Follow Your Heart
by Thine Dreamer Doth Take Flight
Summary: This is how Carrie would appear in the original YGO storyline. Things are a bit different, but some things stay the same. This will continue until the Duelist Kingdom thing comes in, then it ends. Carrie X Jonouchi/Joey ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: This is a fan-fic based off the original concept of **Yu-Gi-Oh! **before the card game took over the whole thing with my OC, Carrie West, added to the mix. I will be using the characters' original Japanese names here because those were their names in the Manga, so yeah. I hope you like this, and if you are ready to give this story a chance, please read on and enjoy._

* * *

><p><strong>Follow Your Heart<strong>

Chapter 1

It was a day like any other day when she came into their class. An American transfer student with blonde hair and green eyes, she only managed to fit in because her mother was Japanese and therefore she had some Japanese characteristics. Her uniform was the same as every other girl only the skirt was a bit longer than the other girls' for some reason unknown to the masses. She refused to meet anyone's gaze as she stood in front of the class and the teacher introduced her to the other students in the room. A cold air surrounded her, making her nearly unapproachable for anyone with any brains in their head. She didn't even wait for the teacher to assign her a seat; she just took the one in the back of the room far away from everyone else.

Her name was Carrie West, but that was all anyone knew about her. There were rumors about how she was supposedly the niece of a very wealthy man and she was a talented gamer, but no one could confirm those rumors without talking to the cold girl. An accepted belief for her appearance in Domino City was that her mother had wanted to return to her homeland, but that was just another rumor. Nothing was known about her and no one wanted to learn anything about her when she gave off this unfriendly aura.

Honda jokingly called her a vampire when class was in break, referring to her reclusive nature and many unknown secrets. Anzu hit him in the back of the head and told him to be nice, but it really didn't matter because Carrie was not around to hear him. She left the classroom and headed up onto the roof to get away from the questioning stares of her classmates. She glanced out at the world around her, this world she had been forced into, and wondered if a new life could begin here.

A hand-shaped bruise hidden underneath the elongated hem of her skirt began to ache, but she hardly acknowledged the pain. She was more worried about fitting into this new school, something she had never been able to do back at her old one. Back there, she had gotten into fights often only to keep herself alive. Everyone was against her. She had not one single friend to turn to save her little sister and they could hardly stand to look at one another since they were in the same situation. Her little sister had it a bit worse because she was only her half-sister through their mother, and Carl didn't like that…

"Hey there. Why you up here all by yourself?"

Carrie glanced over her shoulder to see one of the students from her class standing there. If memory served her from time in the classroom, this punk was named Jonouchi. Her expression hardened now that she wasn't alone—she wouldn't let anyone inside her heart to give them the chance to hurt her nor would she even let them see her emotions—and she looked away from him. He didn't understand her cold nature, but he wasn't much afraid of it, either. He had acted kind of the same way back when he used to be a bullying punk. In that sense, he could relate.

"You know, whatever's bothering you will feel much better if you talk about it and stop isolating yourself from everyone. You might be a foreigner, but we natives won't bite," Jonouchi told her, taking a step closer to the transfer student. "Come on, sister. No one wants to be alone all the time. Don't you want to have any friends?"

The blonde said nothing to him and briskly walked right past him towards the stairs without so much as another glance in his direction. Jonouchi stood there for a moment, puzzled by her. No one liked solitude, especially not a girl. So why was this girl purposely avoiding all people like they were the plague? What was wrong with her, for surely there was something wrong with her for her to be behaving like this? He would have to consult his other friends about this before things could take a turn for the worst.

Jonouchi headed back to the classroom and wasn't surprised to find that Carrie had not returned there. Yugi, Anzu, and Honda were off by themselves, talking about he didn't know what but it couldn't have been as important as what he had to say. He knocked his brunette buddy aside and made room for himself around Yugi's desk. Honda grumbled something about his rude behavior but did nothing about it.

"That new girl is just so strange! She hasn't said a word to anyone and she acts so cold! We have to figure her out before she does something or somebody does something to her!" Jonouchi declared.

Anzu blinked, confused. "What do you expect us to do? She never talks and never answers anyone's questions. Confronting her won't do any good. Besides, we shouldn't be putting our noses where they don't belong. If she wants to tell people about herself, then she'll do so on her own. Just leave her alone, Jonouchi, before you end up making a fool of yourself."

"I don't know…He does kinda have a point. The quiet ones are usually the ones that cause the most trouble around here," Honda pointed out. "Then again, some of the obnoxious ones tend to be behind problems as well, so…Maybe we should be a bit more wary of this newbie."

"What, are you afraid of a girl?" Anzu asked.

"I don't like what you're suggesting here, Anzu," Jonouchi remarked. "I'm not afraid of anyone, and I especially ain't afraid of a girl. I'm just looking out for everyone else. Whenever someone starts things around here, they usually go after Yugi. I won't have anyone threatening my pal as long as I can protect him. Even if it's a girl that's after him, if she dares lay one finger in a bad way on him, I won't hesitate to knock her flat on her butt. That's what she'll deserve, after all!"

"Yeah right. You don't have the gull to hit a girl in any situation," Honda muttered.

"Why are you even thinking about hitting girls? That's just wrong," Yugi pointed out.

"I don't wanna hit girls, Yugi. I'm just saying that if one threatened and hurt you, I'd have no choice. But it's not likely to happen. Girls can't fight all that well, anyway. I mean, they're too afraid of messing up their hair or breaking a nail to really fight," Jonouchi commented, making Anzu angry.

Before his female friend could go off on him, one of their fellow students came running in to inform everyone of a fight going on in the hallway. She said it was the new girl going against three guys that were picking on her. The gang worried that she might be in trouble and ran out with the other students to watch. The three guys were huge and bullies that no one really liked but no one had the guts to stand up to them. Anyone else that entered a fight would have been knocked out cold within the first minute. But Carrie was hanging in there, kicking ass actually. She didn't care about the condition of her hair or her nails, contradictory to what Jonouchi had just claimed. She just fought like a street fighter, tearing those bullies apart until they lay on the ground in pieces from her punches and kicks.

Her hard eyes flashed up to look at the people in the crowd around her and everyone quickly looked away to avoid her stare after seeing what she was capable of. Her clothes were wrinkled and unkempt now, as was her hair, but she didn't seem to care. She walked back towards the classroom like nothing had happened; the crowd cleared the way for her, glancing at her and whispering about her as she passed. The way she ignored them was uncanny. Yugi wondered about her and doubted this was the first time she had fought anyone. The way she took out those guys proved it to be so. Only people that had been in battle before, like Jonouchi and Honda, could ever defeat an enemy that quickly and effectively.

He felt something as she passed him and the others, something he didn't understand. He sensed that she was in a lot of pain, though not of the physical sense. How he had come to feel this was beyond him, but now he was left wondering what had the cold girl in so much emotional pain. Maybe Jonouchi hadn't been completely wrong in wanting to look into this girl's life. With her pain and her fighting prowess, she could either be a big help or a huge threat.

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><p>"What are you expecting to find out about her on the internet?" Jonouchi asked tiredly, leaning against the table while Yugi typed on one of the computers at the public library later that day.<p>

The spiky-haired kid shrugged. "I don't know, but this is the only thing I could think of to find anything out about her. Unless you wanna go ask her…"

"Nah, I think I like this option better. After seeing what she did to those guys, I'm not in a hurry to try talking to her again. This guy likes life, thank you very much," Jonouchi stated. "It's just too bad Honda and Anzu couldn't join us. They would be interested in learning about her, too, especially after what she did in school today."

"Yeah, but you know Anzu has to work and Honda is babysitting for his sister again. It couldn't be helped," Yugi reminded him.

Searching Carrie West's name popped up with some links, but hardly any of them were for the Carrie they wanted to know about. One of the links had her as a sub-note to another person, a man named Carl West. Yugi clicked that one and a website for Carl's business appeared on the screen. The homepage had a picture of the man and his family, which was the only reason Yugi did not leave the page immediately. The blonde-haired green-eyed cold girl was in the picture, along with her gray-haired green-eyed father, orange-haired blue-eyed mother, and black-haired pink-eyed sister. Their names were listed below the picture as Carl West, Megan Pegasus, and Jessica West. No one looked happy at all in that family portrait and Yugi could almost swear that he saw a bruise on the side of Jessica's face poorly hidden by her hair.

"So you've found her family, huh? What a happy-looking bunch," Jonouchi remarked sarcastically. "West Intel Company…So that's why she was forced to come over here from America. Her father's business moved over here to attract more customers. Must have been doing really badly in the States for him to make such a drastic move."

"Maybe. The stats seem to support that," Yugi agreed as he brought up a financial overview on the website.

He left that website and found another link about just Carrie. It showed her holding a trophy after dominating a gaming tournament without a single loss. All the people around her in that picture were happy over her victory, but there was not one trace of happiness on her face. The caption of this picture said this was her sixth consecutive win in this tournament; no one had managed to even come close to getting the better of her in six whole years! Further research proved this to not be the only tournament she had been winning for six years. But one thing remained constant in her pictures—she never smiled nor showed any signs of happiness.

"Pull up Carl's financial report again. I think I see a connection," Jonouchi said, and Yugi opened up that link again. "Go back to six years ago, when Carrie first started winning game tournaments. See? His business was starting to head south here, but then in March it went back up a considerable amount. March was when Carrie won her first gaming tournament. It happened again in June, then September, and again in every month up to December. The pattern probably repeats in the years after this one."

"So her father was using Carrie to keep his business from going under," Yugi assumed.

"Yeah, but it didn't do him all that good. There's only so much money a girl can win in tournaments, and it's not nearly enough to keep a business from falling under," Jonouchi pointed out, indicating the most recent numbers for West Intel Company.

"But to use his daughter like that…It's just plain cruel. No wonder she never looks happy to win. It kinda makes you wonder what happens when the cameras are not on her or her family. If Carl is controlling enough to force her into various tournaments just to make enough money to keep his business going, there's hardly any doubt that he abuses her and possibly her mother and sister. I wouldn't be a happy, talkative person if I were in her place," Yugi murmured.

"I bet those gaming tournaments are another reason Carl had the family relocate here. I mean, what country in the world hosts the most tournaments? If it ain't Japan, I don't know where else it would be," Jonouchi commented.

Yugi nodded. "I think you're right. But what are we supposed to do about it? It's not like we can just go up to her and tell her we know what's going on. You saw what she did to those guys earlier. What if she thinks we're annoying and decides to beat up on us? I don't know about you, but I've been beat up enough times in high school already to last a lifetime and I'm just a freshman."

Jonouchi laughed. "Yeah, I see your point. Maybe we could just try talking to her in a way that she can't possibly get mad at us. Should be easy enough for you, what with you being so small and adorable like a little kid. If she finds a reason to get mad at you, then we'll know for sure that something's wrong with her beyond being used by her own father."

"If my size and cuteness could save me from people's anger, I wouldn't have been beaten up at all," Yugi muttered unenthusiastically.

"Well anyway, it'll be worth a shot at least. We can't just let this girl suffer even if we don't know her all that well. No one deserves to suffer at the hands of their father…I would know considering I live with a problematic man who's supposed to be my father," Jonouchi told him. "We'll meet up tomorrow before class with Anzu and Honda and then take care of things from there."

"Okay. Sounds like a plan," Yugi agreed.

* * *

><p>Carrie wasn't in school the next day.<p>

In fact, she wasn't in school for the rest of the week.

The other students weren't all that concerned with her absence, but that was because they didn't know a thing about her. Yugi, Anzu, Honda, and Jonouchi knew some things about her that made them worried about her not showing up for so long. They could only assume what might have happened to her, which made their minds create some pretty scary scenarios for the poor cold blonde girl. Many of those scenarios involved her being beaten to death by her cruel father, unable to fight back to protect herself.

She made her reappearance on the Monday of the following week, her uniform once again altered so more of her was covered than any of the other girls. One of her eyes looked darker than the other, like it had been bruised recently but was recovering. She apologized for being out for so long—her excuse was her little sister had been sick and she had to take care of her while her parents were at work, and then she had accidentally hurt herself by running into a door—and then took her seat without saying another word. The first words spoken by this girl had been an excuse for her prolonged absence and injuries. It was a classical abusive setup.

The gang volunteered to help catch Carrie up on her missing assignments. Their teacher was skeptical that they would be the best to help her, but since at least half of them had good grades, he allowed it. After he handed out their assignment and the class was left to do their work, the gang moved to the back of the room to where Carrie was seated. She didn't even glance up at them as they crowded around her desk though they were careful not to get too close so they wouldn't upset her.

"Carrie, are you really okay?" Yugi asked after Anzu had explained her missing work to her thoroughly.

The blonde girl did not answer him; she remained as silent as she had been ever since she had given the teacher that lame excuse. Her gaze remained on her work while she completed it, never looking up at him or the others. Honda, Anzu, Jonouchi, and Yugi exchanged glances; no one knew where to go from here or what to make of this. She wasn't cooperating or even acknowledging their existence. Could it be that she was just cold-hearted and they had misjudged the evidence?

"Hey you, we know what your father has been doing these past six years," Jonouchi stated—she responded by pausing in her work for a second. "Carl West has been forcing you into those gaming tournaments to benefit from the money you win so his business doesn't sink. He's been using you since you were ten. And when that wasn't enough to keep West Intel afloat in America, he had you relocated to Japan to participate in more tournaments to bring in more money. I'm right, aren't I?"

Carrie's green eyes flickered up to his face for a second before they went back down to her work. That seemed to be answer enough.

"And to ensure you remain loyal to him and never step out of line, Carl West has been abusing you for all these years," Honda continued.

She froze upon hearing this information come out of his mouth. The sudden stiffness of her body warned Yugi that she wouldn't react well to them speaking about this topic, but it went mostly unnoticed by the others. Most abuse victims denied they were being abused and some even defended their attackers. Why should she be any different, especially considering that her attacker was her own father?

"He uses his dominance over you to make you do whatever he wants. His fists enforce his words, making you feel weak and insignificant and worthless. You try not to set him off, but something always manages to make him mad at you and you suffer for doing nothing wrong. To make up for what you can't change at home, you control every other aspect of your life by staying away from everyone so they can't hurt you like your father has hurt you. Anyone that tries to control you is put in their place immediately. It's clear as day that this is the case with you," Honda said bluntly.

The girl opened her mouth like she might say something to him, but then shut it just as quickly. She put her belongings away in her backpack and stood up, purposely knocking her desk over as she did so to warn them to back off. Despite the teacher practically ordering her to stay put, Carrie briskly walked out of the room and was gone. All eyes were focused on the people that had been talking to Carrie, wondering what they had done to upset her. Yugi, Anzu, and Jonouchi were looking at Honda, who just shrugged innocently under their gaze.

"We shouldn't have cornered her. It put her on the defensive and made her want to leave," Anzu remarked as the teacher told the other students to get back to work.

"Yeah, and Honda shouldn't have been hounding her about what Carl does. I'm pretty sure she's fully aware of her situation and didn't need you to remind her," Jonouchi commented, shooting a dirty look at his close friend.

"Hey, don't hate on me. I was just trying to get the truth out of her," Honda snapped.

"Guys, guys. Calm down. There's no need to get snippy. And this isn't the end of the world, you know. She knows we know about her and that she isn't the only one that knows what she's going through anymore. She was even about to say something for a moment there. Just because she blew us off this once doesn't mean we can't still try to help her. We still have plenty of time," Yugi reminded them.

"Yugi's right. We can try again tomorrow," Anzu agreed.

The gang returned to their seats for the most part. Anzu asked if she could use the restroom and the teacher permitted her to go—his attention was distracted due to him calling the office to report Carrie walking out—despite it not being in his character to let anyone do anything. He couldn't do much, considering that he had a class to tend to and Carrie was a new student, but no one really cared about his position. He was just a teacher, after all, and they all had their own problems.

Anzu left the classroom and headed down the hall towards the bathrooms. She walked into the ladies' room and went into one of the stalls without noticing the bathroom wasn't empty. She just went about her business, exited the stall, and approached the sink to wash her hands.

It was while she was washing her hands that she noticed she wasn't alone in the ladies' room. Out of the corner of her blue eyes she saw Carrie's backpack lying on the floor near the door. That led her to see the blonde girl standing in front of one of the mirrors farther down from where she was standing, holding up the hem of her unusually long skirt. There Anzu caught a glimpse of several large bruises, the kind that could only be caused by being struck with a blunt object very hard. Carrie's sleeves were rolled up as well, revealing other dark secrets about her. Her arms were covered with cuts and bruises, with most of those bruises being in the shape of hands and fists. Anzu could only imagine the terrible things Carrie was hiding underneath the rest of her clothing.

Her surprise at seeing Carrie's abusive battle wounds made her gasp before she realized it. Anzu clamped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late. The blonde's eyes shot up from inspecting her bruises and turned in her direction. She allowed her blue skirt to fall back over her legs and rolled her pink sleeves back down to hide the evidence once again. Anzu tried to leave, but now that she had seen the truth and Carrie knew she had seen it, the cold green-eyed girl couldn't let her leave in one piece.

She grabbed the brunette by the shoulder before she could reach the door, pulling back her other fist as she did. Then she punched Anzu right in the back of the head with all the force she could muster, bringing the poor girl to her knees with one blow. Carrie kicked her in the back, causing her to collapse on all fours on the floor. She proceeded to beat up on Anzu until the brunette girl was battered and almost unconscious. Satisfied that she had gotten her message across—the message to keep her nose in her own business—Carrie stopped hitting Anzu and left her lying on the bathroom floor. She grabbed her backpack and exited the bathroom without another look at the brunette girl.

* * *

><p>Miho found Anzu five minutes later, and by that time the brunette was unconscious. The blue-haired girl ran out to call for help; an ambulance was called in to take the girl to the hospital. No one was sure what had happened, but people had their ideas that involved a certain blonde newbie. The facts supported the rumor that she had beaten up Anzu in the bathroom, and it didn't help matters that she had gone missing just after the incident. But Carrie wasn't one to attack just anyone—she had to have a motive. What had happened to make her hurt Anzu?<p>

Regardless, her three guy friends weren't happy with the situation. None of them could understand why Carrie would turn on someone that hadn't provoked her, knowing that Anzu wouldn't have done anything to provoke her because that wasn't how Anzu was. Jonouchi and Honda argued about it while Yugi listened silently for the rest of the school day, though the latter wasn't really paying them any attention. He was too worried about what Carrie could have done to Anzu in her attack; what if she had broken bones or was in critical condition and was dying? The violet-eyed boy didn't want to think about a world without Anzu though he would never admit it to the others. Miho put an end to that thought pretty quickly as a friend of hers at the hospital called her and told her that Anzu was awake and in good health. She just had quite a few bruises and a minor concussion, so she would be fine.

Thinking of how easily and heartlessly Carrie had hurt Anzu made Yugi very upset with her…Perhaps a little too upset…

The Millennium Puzzle reacted to his emotions and a darkness he wasn't aware of took hold of his body, setting its sights on a cold attacker.

Carrie stood in a back alley that night, leaning against the wall of some building as she waited for him to show up. She had been surprised when Yugi had called her house and invited her out, though it had had its consequences. Her hand came to rest over her abdomen as she recalled what Carl had done after she had gotten off the phone without saying a word to the caller—no one was supposed to call her or Jessica. She brushed aside the pain and focused on whatever was going to happen here.

She wasn't wearing her school uniform anymore. In its place, she had on a pair of blue jeans, a plain black tee, a black leather jacket, and simple tennis shoes. This was how she had dressed back in the States on a daily basis—it felt good to go back to her roots. She felt like a fool for ever thinking she could start over or fit in anywhere. This place brought her back to her old habits. It was practically the same as New York City, only full of brash Japanese people instead of rude American people. A single tear slid down her face as she felt herself give up hope of ever being happy.

Then she saw a shadow in the alley where one hadn't been before and knew her company had arrived. She glanced to her right to see Yugi standing there, but something was different about him. Maybe it was in the way he carried himself or that evil little grin on his face. Whatever it was, she didn't feel like she was in the presence of the same boy that had wanted to help her with his friends. Still, he would be taken care of like every other person that ever crossed her the wrong way…Just like that Anzu chick.

"I see you came early," Yugi commented, and Carrie realized his voice and mannerisms were quite different as well. "It must have been hard getting past your abusive father to come meet me. No doubt you suffered some wounds from the experience." His violet gaze rested upon her abdomen, almost like he knew she had been struck there by her father's angry kicks. "But you and I have a problem that needs to be dealt with, regardless of what condition you are in. You put one of my friends in the hospital, a very close friend in fact. She did nothing to you and yet you attacked her without mercy and left her on the bathroom floor. I cannot let you get away with that."

Carrie said nothing. She simply glared at the short kid and cracked her knuckles, relaying a message to him that she could easily put him in the hospital, too, without speaking a word. Dark Yugi was not fazed by her threats.

"You are a talented gaming champion. Perhaps instead of solving this with violence as you are accustomed to doing, we can settle this in another way. Let's play a game, dear Carrie. A Shadow Game," Dark Yugi suggested.

The blonde girl gave him an odd look but still kept silent. She waited for him to name the game, certain that whatever it was she could handle it.

Dark Yugi pulled out a simple deck of playing cards. "I am sure you know of the game of war. It is a relatively simple game. Cut the deck evenly among the players, and whoever manages to obtain all four aces wins the game. In this Shadow Game, however, things will be a bit different. The goal will still be to obtain all the aces, but the loser will suffer a penalty game. And one more thing before we begin…The cards become attached to your soul. Every time you lose a card to your opponent, regardless of if it is a lowly two or a high king, you will experience some…discomfort."

The cruel smile that appeared on Dark Yugi's face unnerved Carrie a little, but she didn't believe him about any of this Shadow Game junk and she never backed down from a challenge. Her opponent threw the deck at her and she shuffled the cards for them. They sat on two small crates with a larger one between them to serve as their table. She dealt twenty-six cards to each of them. There was no telling who had how many aces until they would go through one round—for all either of them knew, they had lost already—but neither was one to give up so quickly.

"Game start," Dark Yugi stated as he laid down the ten of clubs.

In the beginning, war was mostly a game of chance due to the player being unsure of what cards they had. Even later, it was still very chancy, but both players would come to know what card would come up next and could stack their won cards in any order in preparation for their opponent's threat. For now, Carrie would just have to hang on. She flipped over her top card and laid it next to Dark Yugi's. It was a five of diamonds, which meant she had lost here.

A sharp pain stronger than anything she had ever felt before struck at Carrie's heart, making her double over and gasp as Dark Yugi moved the ten of clubs and five of diamonds to the side. It took her a moment to recover, but that pain never really left. It hurt more than anything Carl had done to her thus far. She wondered if that was what he meant by a Shadow Game where the cards were connected to the soul, but didn't have to ask because the answer was in that cruel little smile of his.

The game proceeded with both sides taking losses and claiming victories. Carrie was not the only one in pain as the rules applied to both participants, which meant Dark Yugi was suffering as well. The higher the card value, the greater the pain experienced by the one whom lost it in war. Yet she was the only one who was doubling over in pain. Dark Yugi just gasped and gritted his teeth, almost like he was accustomed to such a hurting sensation in his body. What was he made of? Or was he just some sort of masochist? Well, whatever the reason, by the end of the first round it was discovered that each had two aces—Carrie had the ace of hearts and the ace of clubs and Dark Yugi had the ace of diamonds and spades.

Carrie slipped up for some reason, or at least she felt like she slipped up. Dark Yugi started getting the advantage on her, causing her even more pain. She lost one of her aces, the ace of clubs, and actually ended up screaming in agony from the shot to her soul it caused. Dark Yugi watched her suffer with emotionless eyes, just as uncaring as her father. It was all she could do not to cry. It took her a full three minutes to get over that pain enough to continue with the game, though sweat was beading on her skin and she felt like crying because this game was making her feel like she was dying. Couldn't she just die already…?

Her cards began running short until she only had four left, including her ace of hearts. The pain pushed her so close to the edge of the darkness of unconsciousness, she could almost taste that release. But it was not to be a quick rescue. Her ace of hearts matched up with his ace of spades. She set her last three cards across from three of his, knowing this would be the end of her now…Knowing, and yet…

She broke down in tears, burying her face in her arms. "…I'm sorry…"

Dark Yugi was slightly shocked upon hearing her speak to him for the first time and halted in finishing her off.

"…I…I didn't want to hurt Anzu…But…She saw _them_…No one is supposed to see _them_. I…I had to make her keep quiet, so I…I treated her like any other person that stood in my way. I held back enough not to seriously hurt her…I just wanted to…to get her to back off. It was stupid…But it was all I could think of doing. It's the only way I've ever dealt with my problems…," Carrie whimpered. "…You were right…You were all right… Carl has been using me and abusing me, but more than that…He does the same to my little sister. Not the using part…But he practically kills her and I can't do anything to stop him…I'm so weak…I act so strong, but I'm just so weak…"

The man with tri-colored hair took in this new information carefully. The Shadow Game had stripped away all her protective shields, revealing her naked soul to him in full. She was not dark-hearted or even all that cold. She was in a great deal of pain from her father's physical abuse and her mother's condescending words, but it was most hurt from watching her little sister suffer and not being strong enough to do anything about it. Her parents had not always been so cruel, but one day something in the both of them snapped and turned them into the monsters Carrie knew now. Thus being the case, she was resistant to letting anyone get close to her because she was afraid they would turn on her in the same manner. Her tough behavior was just a cover, meant only to hide away her feelings of weakness.

"This Shadow Game is…is almost over. Once I lose my last ace…Will it kill me? I hope so…Or will it be the penalty game that finishes me…? Either way…Death is better than this miserable life I'm living…," Carrie sobbed, straightening so the tears falling from her green eyes were now completely visible to her opponent. "…So…Let's go ahead and …finish this."

She flipped over her last three cards: a queen of spades, a jack of diamonds, and a king of clubs. It was a nice lineup, but she knew her opponent could probably pull off a better one to end her here and now. She closed her eyes and waited for her soul to throb in greater pain, not wanting to see her end. Watching it come would make panic rise within her, and she didn't want to go out panicking.

Dark Yugi made a sound of surprise. "Well, what are the odds? It appears that we have tied in this round. See for yourself."

Carrie slowly opened her eyes to see what cards Dark Yugi had played. A queen of hearts, a jack of hearts, and a king of hearts. They were a perfect match to the set she just played, so the round really was a tie. An instance like this was so rare. How would they proceed from here? Carrie knew no rule about how to go about a tie, save by doing the three-card thing again. But she had no cards left, so wouldn't she lose by default?

"Do not fret, Carrie. This game is done, but it will not have a loser. I may have won the most cards, but you achieved your own victory in this game. You finally admitted your situation and exposed your true colors. For that, I cannot allow this Shadow Game to send you into a penalty game. Thus being so, we have ended in a tie," Dark Yugi told her, sweeping all the cards into one pile before straightening them and putting them away.

"No…No, I lost. Why won't you put an end to my misery…? Send me into this penalty game and let me die!" Carrie begged.

Dark Yugi shook his head. "Only those with wicked hearts deserve to go through the penalty game. Your heart is clouded with pain caused by one you once loved, a pain that I would never wish upon anyone. It makes you do crazy things in order to ensure that you are all alone and no one else can ever hurt you like you have already been hurt. I will not have your death on my conscience. You do not deserve to die despite your actions against my friend."

The blonde girl trembled as she cried, though her eyes were now focused on the ground rather than on him. She couldn't understand this guy. One moment he wanted vengeance for what she had done to Anzu in the form of a fatal card game. The next moment he was rambling about how good a person she really was and that she didn't deserve to die. It didn't matter if she didn't deserve to die. She just wanted to die to put an end to her suffering before Carl could hurt her anymore.

She pulled out a knife from a pocket in her jacket and put it against her own throat. If he wouldn't help her die, then she would just do it herself. The world would be better for it. Then she couldn't hurt innocent people like Anzu when they found out about her secrets. She would be free and the rest of the world would be a bit more peaceful without her existence to bring about more violence.

Before she could make the slashing motion that would end her life, Dark Yugi grabbed the knife by its blade and forced it backwards, using all his strength to keep her from slitting her throat. Despite her bruised and beaten arms, she was strong enough to fight against him. The blade wobbled back and forth, but it never made it back to her flesh. He wouldn't allow it no matter how hard she fought him.

"Your death is not necessary, Carrie. You are needed in this world, whether you realize it or not. Every good life in this world is precious, and I will not have you throwing yours away so carelessly," Dark Yugi stated, making Carrie's eyes widen in surprise. "You say you are weak despite acting so strong, but you are wrong. A strong person suffers through your life without giving up hope that things could get better. You have just now given up hope, but before you were the strongest woman I knew. You kept your head high despite everything and demanded respect without threatening others unless they threatened you first. Carrie West, you were strong once. What happened to that strength? Why would you give it up, give everything up, just to put a stop to the pain? Have you forgotten all that you have to live for? Have your forgotten Jessica?"

An image of her dark-haired little sister flashed through Carrie's mind, startling her. In this moment of weakness, Jessica had fled her mind and she had only been thinking about herself. If Carrie were to disappear, then what would happen to the pink-eyed girl? Carl hated her enough as it was due to her not being his biological daughter. If his biological daughter were to die, how would he treat Jessica then…? And how would she react to losing her big sister? That would put far too much stress and pain onto the little girl's shoulders. As much as Carrie wanted to stop hurting, she couldn't do that to Jessica. There was just no way she could burden her sister like that, no matter how much she was hurting inside.

"Jessie…," she murmured sadly.

She released the blade and Dark Yugi pulled it away, tossing it casually into the nearby dumpster. He then proceeded to help Carrie to stand as she was too emotional and wobbly to stand on her own. The poor girl whispered her thanks to him for all he had done, to which he replied that it was nothing. She hugged him before he could stop her, not that he would have if he had known she would do it. A girl like her needed some physical contact with another soul, one that wouldn't hurt her like her father had done. He hesitated a moment to return the gesture, but he did return it nonetheless.

This was the start of a wonderful new beginning for Carrie.

* * *

><p>"How do you feel, Anzu?" Jonouchi asked in the classroom the next morning as they waited for class to start.<p>

"Eh…I could be better, but I'm just glad I didn't get any serious injuries," Anzu replied. "Of course, it helps that I'm drugged at the moment to deal with the pain of my head injury…because otherwise I might be crying right now…"

"What in the world did you see that made her attack you?" Honda wanted to know.

"I saw her bruises, the proof that she was indeed being abused. She just…didn't want anyone to know about it, so she tried to get me to shut up about it. I suppose we should leave her alone now…She's made it quite clear that she doesn't want any help of any kind or any friends. We don't want something like this happening again," Anzu remarked, gesturing at herself and all the wounds inflicted upon her by Carrie.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Jonouchi reluctantly agreed.

"…Hey…," an unfamiliar female voice murmured from behind them.

The gang turned around to find Carrie standing there, looking just a bit nervous. They were surprised to hear her speak, shocked that she was speaking to them, and amazed that she seemed nervous about it. She didn't meet their gaze, afraid of what they would think of her now. She did deserve their judgment after the way she had behaved before. If they hated her, she deserved that, too.

"…I…I just wanted to apologize for what I did yesterday. It was wrong of me to attack you without a real motive. Words are just words…They don't make up for anything. But I…I thought you should know I regret what I did and I'll beat myself up about it for weeks to come," Carrie muttered. "You can repay me for it if you want. It's only fair."

Anzu gave her a wan smile. "If there's one thing you should know about me, it's that I don't fight, especially against people that are hurting. I understand why you did it, though my body isn't too happy about it. You're forgiven…Just don't let it happen again, okay? I don't think I could take much more of that."

"What's with the sudden change of heart?" Honda demanded, not buying her apology.

Carrie looked over at Yugi, who didn't seem to know why she was looking at him. Had he forgotten all that had happened between them last night? He was the reason she was changing, the reason she was still alive, and yet he didn't remember? He had seemed different then…Maybe there were two souls in that body or maybe he had an alter ego and couldn't remember what he did in his other form. She managed a small smile.

"Let's just say…I met someone who taught me what it really means to be strong," Carrie said as her eyes came to rest on the Millennium Puzzle around Yugi's neck.

* * *

><p><em>AN: So, what did you think of Carrie in the original plot of **Yu-Gi-Oh!**? Please tell me without flaming or being rude. Thank you for reading, and have a wonderful day._


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Not much to say, other than I hope you continue to read on and enjoy this. ^.^_

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 2<span>

Carrie's friendship with the gang grew over time, though it wasn't easy. She was long set in her ways, so it was hard for her to open her heart up to anyone. Thus being the case, there was still much they didn't know about her. Finding time to spend just the five of them proved difficult as well. If Carrie didn't make it home by a certain time, the wrath of Carl would descend upon her in flames of fury. She made that mistake once and was out of school for a full two weeks, and when she managed to return she had a noticeable limp whenever she walked. No bullies tried to take advantage of her weakness, though, as they knew she could lay them flat on their asses if they tried despite being injured.

As a result of her numerous injuries, her school uniform morphed one last time into that of which the males wore. It wasn't her fault—her father had made it so. Other girls snickered at her, making their snide comments directed at her sexuality, but they were careful not to let her hear them. She didn't care what they thought about her; she knew what she was and that was all that mattered. Honda complimented her and said the uniform had never looked better while blushing, but this she ignored as well.

She was always behind the rest of her class, only barely managing to hold on with the help of her new friends. Her absences piled up for two reasons: being pulled out to go participate in gaming tournaments and the abuse rendering her unable to do anything. The gaming tournaments plastered her unhappy face all over the television screens as she won tournament after tournament, but her fame improved nothing. Her life was in the hands of her so-called father and being torn apart at the seams. Not only that, she had to stay up most nights to do her missing work…and more importantly, to keep Carl West from killing her dear little sister by directing the brunt of his wrath at her instead of at Jessica. Her face was often covered with bruises along with the rest of her. Investigations were launched but the people involved were paid off. They were stuck in a trap.

Carl would never free them from it as long as he lived.

* * *

><p>"…I need a place to stay for awhile," Carrie murmured, limping over to her friends with a bag of clothes slung over her shoulder along with her backpack. She looked terrible, worse than usual if that was even possible. Her right eye was swollen over, her bottom lip was split open, and her limp was noticeably greater. The gang could only wonder what could have set off her so-called father to damage her like this again.<p>

"What happened?" Jonouchi wanted to know.

Carrie sighed and winced from the pain of doing so. "…He was hurting Jessie again… She did nothing to deserve it…I yelled at him and forced him to attack me in her place. The result is what you see now…That and me being thrown out of the house for the foreseeable future. I slept in the girls' locker room last night."

"That's terrible, Carrie! You should have called one of us! We would have gladly taken you in!" Anzu remarked with a hint of pity in her voice. "I'm sure once I explain the situation to my parents they'll let you stay. And they wouldn't turn away a friend in need no matter what."

"You sure? Remember, she put you in the hospital that one time. Your parents are still sore about that and don't even want you talking to her," Honda reminded her.

"Oh right…Sorry," Anzu apologized.

"I'd offer to let you stay with me, but the house is pretty cramped and my sister's son is a total pervert. Trust me, you don't wanna be there. Hell, I don't even wanna be there half the time, but I have no choice because it's my home," Honda muttered.

"My dad's an alcoholic gambler, but he's been gone for a couple of days now. He shouldn't be back for at least another week. If push comes to shove, I'll make room for you. It's no paradise, but it's better than where you are if not by much," Jonouchi offered.

"And if that doesn't work out, I can ask Grandpa if you can stay with us. He probably won't mind, but he can be a bit…uh…_eccentric_…at times, especially around females," Yugi put in, sweat-dropping as he remembered how his grandfather had acted back when Anzu had visited before he had become friends with Jonouchi. "You might want to make my place a last resort."

Carrie gave them a small smile. "…You guys are too good to me…I don't deserve your friendship, but I'm grateful for it." She glanced at her blonde friend. "I suppose I'll return home with you after school then. As long as you don't mind the intrusion, that is…I'll try not to take up too much room, and I'll be gone before your father returns. I don't want you to get hurt for me…"

"Don't worry 'bout it, Carrie. My old man is nothing I can't handle," Jonouchi said.

"Enough of this gloomy business. Let's go stuff your stuff in your locker and get to class," Honda told the group, noting the time.

They did just that as they had no other choice. Carrie did her best to look happy, but Yugi could see she seemed very distracted and wasn't really focusing on her schoolwork at all. Whenever she thought no one was looking, she'd drop her tiny smile completely and look down at her hands, thinking thoughts only she knew. Yugi couldn't help but worry about her. What was bothering her? Was it Carl? Was she afraid he would come after her even when she wasn't in her house? Or was it something else? He didn't know, but he wished he did so he could help her.

She remained distracted throughout the day, so much so that she lost every game she played with her friends. Jonouchi, Anzu, and Tristan noticed it, too, but like Yugi they didn't think it was their place to ask her about it. She might be their friend now, but too much prying could easily send her back to the dark side. The blonde-haired girl's business was her own; they would only get involved if she granted them the chance. That was their unspoken agreement. All they could do was express their concern silently and hope she would open up to them in time.

After lunch, the gang was walking back to class when an idiotic bully decided to mess with the green-eyed girl. He stuck his foot out in front of her on her bad side, causing her to trip and fall flat on her face. The others turned to glare at him as he laughed, calling her a clumsy bitch. Anzu knelt beside her to help her up, a gesture that Carrie accepted without being aware of it. Her gaze was focused on the moron that had made her fall, narrowed in a manner that would have sent anyone else running. This guy obviously had no brains because he remained where he was standing. She stood there for a moment, glaring at the bully, hoping he would get the message so she wouldn't have to fight in her damaged state. Despite her anger, she didn't want to hurt anyone anymore. But the guy just took her prolonged glower as a threat and moved to punch her in her already bruised face, intent on putting the newbie in her place.

Honda and Jonouchi intercepted, ramming their fists into the bully's gut at the same time in one fluid motion. He doubled over in pain as he had not expected her friends to jump to her aid. Carrie whispered her thanks to the boys for their help, and then she stepped forward and repaid her attacker by tripping him just as he had tripped her. Only once he was on the floor, however, she stomped on the back of his head so hard that his nose broke upon impact with the ground with a loud crackling sound. That would teach him to mess with her.

No other punk tried to get at her the rest of the day after seeing how that guy was dispatched, but the insults did not end there. Jealous girls, knowing she was distracted though just as oblivious as her friends as to why, stated their minds about her without any holding back. They called her all sorts of rude things just because of the way she dressed and the way she acted. A couple of them even went as far as to ask Anzu how their relationship was going. Carrie ignored them to the best of her ability while her friends jumped to her defense. Even a couple of people that weren't her friends jumped to her aid, such as the blue-haired Miho and the glasses-wearing Hanasaki. She wondered why they would do that, considering she never even spoke to those kids, but assumed it was because they were friends with her friends and left it at that. She couldn't think more on the subject, anyway, since she was so distracted by her thoughts.

They managed to make it through the rest of the day without any more physical confrontations for which everyone was grateful. Jonouchi was kind enough to carry Carrie's clothing bag for her, which held enough clothes for a week, as the gang prepared to go its separate ways for the day. It was then that Carrie admitted what had distracted her so much. It was her fear not for her own safety, but for that of her little sister. She explained how Jessica was only her half-sister through her mother and how much Carl loathed her existence. The green-eyed blonde was very much concerned that without her presence in the house, Carl would knock Jessica out of this world for good. He had threatened to do it before, but noticing how much his biological daughter loved her bastard sister, he had let her live in the suffering both children had come to know. Without her around, Carrie feared Jessica would meet her end. She even wondered if it might have already happened last night after she had been thrown out like trash.

To put her mind at ease—or at least assure her that Jessica was still alive—the gang made a detour at the middle school where her sister attended class. Carrie told them to keep their distance, not wanting her little sister to see her because it would only add to her pain. She murmured something about Jessica being a wreck when she was thrown out and that knowing her sister couldn't come home would only add to Jessica's emotional distress. Yugi was amazed at the lengths Carrie went to in order to protect her sister as much as she could; she truly was a good big sister. She might argue that she could be better if only she wasn't so weak, but he knew she was stronger than she thought she was. She would never believe him, which was why he kept his mouth shut.

As they hid in the bushes to avoid being seen, a dark-haired girl wandered past them, standing out from the other students in the same way that Carrie stood out from the students at the high school. Her uniform was also that of the boys', made so in order to cover the marks of abuse covering her body. She stood about six inches shorter than her sister, but shared the same shape of face and coldness the gang saw in Carrie. Her pink eyes were full of hidden emotion, exposing only a hint of sadness and despair to those that cared to look. Like her older sister had done, she kept herself away from all others and refused to let her emotions show. No one approached her just as no one had approached Carrie.

Carrie told them her sister got into fights a lot, even more than she did. Jessica was an easy target, having no obvious characteristics similar to her parents or her sister at first glance. Hardly anyone had enough kindness in their hearts to give Jessica a chance, so she responded to their cruel words with her fists. Such behavior only made her life at home that much harder, but it couldn't be helped. For Jessica, it was fight or die just as it once had been for Carrie. They were two sides of the same coin.

"If only Carl were dead…We might have a chance at a normal life…She wouldn't have to suffer so much," Carrie murmured, sobbing as tears fell down her face as she watched her beloved little sister's misery. "…Why…Why must I be so weak that I can't help her get out of this damn situation?"

Despite knowing she hated being pitied, the others couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Honda moved closer to her and opened his arms, and into them she fell even though she didn't like being vulnerable in front of others. She wept silently into his shirt, body trembling against him with sadness only she knew in her heart and soul. Yugi felt his own heart grow heavy just watching her release her misery and he wished he could do something to help her and Jessica get out from under the fatal hand of Carl West. He didn't know how he could possibly do it, but he wished he did.

Jonouchi took Carrie off of Honda's hands when she finally cried herself out. Holding her hand in his own to lend her his strength, the blonde punk bid their friends adieu before leading her away towards the place he called home. Everyone went their separate ways towards their own homes, hearts heavy with guilt because they couldn't help their friend out of a bad situation. The guilt and longing to help made something snap inside Yugi, something that snapped whenever his emotions got the better of him.

The Millennium Puzzle glowed and the darkness rose up again, this time setting his sights on the evil that oppressed the life of a strong heart.

* * *

><p>Carrie lucked out as Jonouchi's father really was out of town. Her friend reluctantly admitted that he did this whenever he got his paycheck. The alcoholic would go to a gambling hall and waste practically everything in losing bets and booze, trying to fill a hole that would never close and had only gotten bigger when his wife left him with his daughter. On the brighter side of things, the house was a peaceful place for a few days in the gambler's absence. These were the days he liked his home, and Jonouchi only managed to stay here because of these times.<p>

He threw down her bag of clothes in his room and went to pull a spare mattress from the hall closet. His home wasn't in the best condition nor was it full of things in their best condition, but that was to be expected in a place owned by a drunken waster. She didn't care what the house looked like; what mattered was her father couldn't get her here. She let out a sigh of relief, letting herself believe for a brief moment that her troubles were over and she had a chance to be happy now.

She asked to go take a shower in the bathroom as she had not been able to take one in the last twenty-four hours. Jonouchi warned her about the problems with the water's habits—hot came out scolding even on a low dial unless cold was turned up all the way, for example—but she didn't mind and took the towel and washcloth from him. Carrie then slipped into the bathroom, locking the door behind her, to grant herself some time to be alone with her thoughts for awhile. Not that she disliked being the company of others, especially since Jonouchi was being so kind to let her into his home, but she couldn't think well when around others.

The green-eyed blonde barely turned the hot on, setting it to the absolute lowest dial, and let the cold water blast, not caring that the resulting water temperature made her body shiver in physical discomfort. The freezing water comforted her, giving her a sharper mind to think, and it didn't make her injuries hurt all that bad. She wanted that sense of clarity that she didn't have anywhere else. She received that gift as the chilled liquid soaked her trembling body and her mind began to work.

Of course, Carrie was still frightened for Jessica's safety. Before her mind had run through so many different scenarios in which her little sister's life would end, worked up over seemingly nothing, but now her mind was not so easily excited. Carl was capable of hurting them all, her mother included, but murder was a whole different level. Even a heartless man that beat his children could not truly be capable of taking the life of a child. He was spineless in the face of true aversion—that was why his business had taken such a downturn in America. Her heart stopped hurting so much as she came to this realization though it continued to have pain to remind her that Carl was still unpredictable. She could not play all her cards in this round of the game knowing he could easily shock her with some new twist in the rules.

Even so, the hurting girl's heart felt a bit more at ease as her mind recalled the inflictor of justice that resided within one of her friends. She remembered her encounter with him in a dark alley after she had put Anzu in the hospital. He had wanted to make her pay for hurting his friend through the use of the game of war in the form of a Shadow Game and she had wished for him to end her that night. But then he had seen her naked soul and the pain within and he had chosen to spare her. Yugi remembered nothing of it, leading her to believe it was another him locked away somewhere inside of her short spiky-haired friend and that the other him only came out when his emotions were challenged. The other darker Yugi seemed to want to inflict justice where it was due…

If ever there was a place for justice, it was at the home of the Wests.

Dark Yugi had helped her find a reason to live when darkness and misery surrounded her on every side, burning through it all with his light. Carrie was in his debt, a position she hated to be in, but at the same time she was glad. It meant she would see him again someday, especially if he proved to be the justice bringer she believed him to be and he saved her and Jessica from Carl. Despite him bringing her to her knees and to tears, a part of Carrie really wanted to see Dark Yugi again. His strength had renewed her strength as well as her hope that she could be happy someday if she kept believing it would happen. He had led her to open her heart to those she now called her friends—she was in debt to him here, too. Her debts to him were piling up; he would have to come and collect sometime. She wondered if she would be ready for that day.

Her mind a little clearer and her body clean, Carrie shut off the cold water and pushed aside the curtain. She had just grabbed the towel and stepped out of the tub when Jonouchi knocked on the door, checking on her. She didn't reply fast enough and, despite her previously locking it, he burst through the door, shouting for her not to kill herself. She stared at him with wide eyes as he realized she wasn't committing suicide and that she was standing in front of him…unclothed.

"Jonouchi! I locked that door for a reason!" Carrie exclaimed, quickly wrapping the towel around her exposed body so he couldn't stare at anything anymore.

"The lock's been broken forever! I'm sorry I didn't tell you that! And I'm sorry I came in while you were indecent! I was afraid you might be doing something drastic after the way you were earlier!" Jonouchi shouted, just as embarrassed as she was at the moment.

"I understand that much, but you could have waited more than five seconds for me to speak! I hope you enjoyed the free peep show cuz you're not going to get another one anytime soon!" Carrie snapped.

"I wasn't staring at your boobs or anything, Carrie, I swear! Well…Not just them, anyway…I was actually looking at your bruises since they cover just about everything," Jonouchi said honestly. In her embarrassment of being seen naked by a friend, the blonde girl had forgotten about what was exposed besides her femininity. Bruises inflicted upon her by the cruel hands of her so-called father were showing as well. "Believe it or not… They're more noticeable than anything else. That's what I was looking at, I promise."

"…I believe you," Carrie murmured, wishing the towel was big enough to cover her whole body so none of her bruises were visible.

"You're not the only one that's had to hide bruises, Carrie. I've had my fair share of 'em whenever the old man's drunkenness became a little hard to handle. They hurt quite a bit at first, then the pain lessens, and in time they eventually fade away…But they still remind you of what you weren't able to do in that situation," Jonouchi grumbled, remembering his own wounds.

"…Do you have any right now?" Carrie asked.

"Not from my old man, but that's only cuz I've learned to stay out of the house whenever he's at his worst. No, my bruises of nowadays are from punks that managed to land one on me in a fight," Jonouchi told her with a triumphant grin. "Anyway, I'll leave you alone so you can dress. I've seen enough of you in ways I never wanted to see you, so I think it's best if I take my leave."

Carrie waited for the door to close behind Jonouchi before she let out her breath. That had been an awkward situation above all others for sure, but she came to realize what a truly lucky girl she was to have friends like that. It took a special kind of person to see their friend naked and only—or even mostly—look at their bruises over everything else. They were a lot alike, both with fathers that were abusive in one way or another and a mother that was pretty much not in their lives and a little sister that had suffered just as they had. She saw Jonouchi in a new light now, one in which she was accustomed to being in, and wished she had realized their similarities sooner.

She slipped into her undergarments and then pulled a black-and-white striped tank top over her head and blue jeans onto her legs. Her body still shivered as a result of prolonged exposure to cold water, but she didn't pay it any attention. The only thing on her mind was spending time with her best friend Jonouchi to thank him for his kindness. She had to make sure he didn't blab about seeing her undressed, after all…

* * *

><p>Dark Yugi defeated Carl in their Shadow Game with ease that was lacking in many of his other Shadow Games. The challenge had been simple, much like the challenge of war between him and Carrie the other night. In this case, it had been a game with true stakes with both contestants tossing a knife back and forth between one another and the distance growing between them after each throw. The trick was in how one threw and caught the sharp weapon. The loser was determined by the first one to get cut and bleed. The knife used was, ironically, the same one that Carrie had wanted to take her life with but that Dark Yugi had taken from her hand. He had kept it after she returned home, and now he had used it for good.<p>

The gray-haired green-eyed businessman had been cut first when he failed to catch the knife thrown by Dark Yugi once they had come to stand twenty feet apart. It had grazed his cheek, cutting him just enough for the red substance to come out. Carl had been furious to lose to a kid and moved to strangle his opponent, but then the penalty game kicked in and kept him from doing anything of the sort. His penalty game was by far the cruelest ever inflicted by Dark Yugi, but the man truly deserved it. His body went through all the pain he had ever caused Carrie, Jessica, and even their mother Megan, releasing years and years of pain onto his body in one shot. The agony was too much for Carl's flesh; five minutes after he entered the penalty game, his body ceased to move altogether, and he was dead. His corpse lay on the floor of his office, never to move or hurt others ever again.

Dark Yugi had left the building then, taking Carrie's knife with him, without being seen by anyone. No one would know he had been there, but the effect of his actions would be felt by many. Most importantly, though, was that it meant Carrie wouldn't have to suffer anymore and neither would her little sister. They could live normal lives with strong hearts and no more pain. They could be free at last…

He smiled as he walked off into the setting sun. Everyone deserved to be free if they had good hearts.

* * *

><p>Carrie was curled up next to Jonouchi on the couch as they watched a movie with the subtitles on for her benefit when the phone rang. He paused the movie and went to check to see if it was a bill collector or his father, promising it wouldn't take long, and he offered to make hot chocolate while he was in there. Carrie waited patiently for his return. The movie wasn't all that interesting—the language barrier and the fact that it was meant for a male audience took away from its storyline—but spending time with her friend was worth suffering through the film's lameness.<p>

Jonouchi came running back into the room, cradling the wireless phone between his shoulder and his ear as he made a mad dash for the remote. He turned the movie off and changed the channel to a news station, confirming it with the caller. Carrie turned her attention to the news as her friend hung up, and it was then and there that she received the biggest shock of her life. The channel showed her father's building and someone being taken out in a body bag on a gurney. Her orange-haired blue-eyed mother was crying, screaming out something she couldn't hear because the video was only of images and not sound. The reporter said the dead person was Carl West, that the cause of his death was unknown at the moment, and that there would be an investigation.

Carl West was dead.

"Did you hear that, Carrie? Your father is dead," Jonouchi repeated as the story changed to something about a cute kitten doing something cute.

She said nothing and her head was hung while her body trembled. Even though her eyes were hidden in the shadow of her hair, Jonouchi could tell she was crying. That was understandable—the man may have been a monster, but he had still been her father. The blonde boy hated to admit it, but if his sorry excuse for a father bit the big one, he would probably be a wreck, too. Knowing this, the brown-eyed teen sat next to Carrie and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"It's all right, Carrie. Everything's gonna be all right," he whispered reassuringly.

Carrie laughed at him then, revealing the hidden expression of joy on her face. "I'm not crying…because I'm sad, Jonouchi. I mean…It does hurt me some that he's dead…He was my father for the first seven years of my life…But my tears are not of sadness. I'm happy, Jonouchi. Carl's finally gone, and I am free of him. Jessie's free of him. We don't have to live in fear anymore. We're free!"

Jonouchi blinked in confusion, having not expected this reaction from Carrie. His confusion was quickly forgotten as she hugged him in her happiness and he quickly returned the gesture. He had never seen Carrie happy before, and he decided here and now that he liked her that way. That smile was much more fitting than her usual frown, much more beautiful. If being free meant he could see that smile more often, then he was ecstatic that she was at last free.

Carl was dead and gone from their lives, a blessing in disguise as a tragedy on the news.

* * *

><p><em>AN: This wasn't as long as the first chapter, but I hope you think it was just as good as the first. Yeah, I killed Carl off a lot quicker in this story than in my other one, but he deserved it. And I'm thinking of changing the pairing of this story from possible Carrie X Yugi/Dark Yugi to Carrie X Jonouchi. It'd be something new to go along with her new tale. What do you think of this and what did you think of this chapter as a whole? Please tell me. Thank you for reading and have a wonderful day._


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Upon request and further analysis, I've decided to make this story's pairing Jonouchi/Joey X Carrie. Let's see how this one plays out. Please read on and enjoy._

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 3<span>

Carrie returned home the day after her so-called father's death, a true smile on her face for the first time that her friends had seen. It was a sign that good things would come her way now that she didn't have to worry about being beaten or forced into gaming tournaments anymore. She and her little sister were free at last. They could live normal lives now. For that, her friends were happy for her and glad for the things that would come with her freedom.

But when one problem is solved, another always takes its place.

This time was no different…

* * *

><p>Jonouchi was lounging in his room, listening to the old broken radio he managed to salvage amongst the junk in the house. He had cleaned the house beforehand to eliminate any trace of Carrie having been there—his father would not have reacted well if he knew his son had a visitor over—and his homework was done. The others were busy with other things or else he would be spending his afternoon with them. Yugi had to help his grandfather at the game shop. Honda had to baby-sit again while his sister was at work. Anzu had to work her shift at Burger World. Then there was Carrie. Even though the threat of Carl was gone, she still had to deal with her mother…And of course there was the funeral though Carl was not deserving of one in the slightest. She wouldn't have a free day until that monster was put in the ground for good, which meant the only time he could see her was at school.<p>

He sighed and rolled onto his stomach. The blonde boy didn't know why, but there was something about that girl that kept his mind reeling and his heart racing. He didn't want to call it love exactly, but perhaps just a little crush. She wouldn't return the feeling; she was still too closed-off to even think about such a thing, he knew. It had taken her a long time just to make friends. It would take a lot longer to get inside her heart despite their similarities if he managed to get in at all. The memory of her smile and her laughter made his skin crawl in a way that he didn't mind much at all. Oh, what he would do to see her happy all the time…

Above the sound of the music, Jonouchi heard the front door slam shut. He knew all too well what that meant and quickly moved to turn off the radio. It was only a matter of time before he was no longer alone. It was always the same, and he hated it more every time it happened. The cycle he lived in was not unlike the one Carrie had just managed to escape. The only difference lied in how Carl had used the money and also that he was never a drunk.

Jonouchi wondered if he could jump out the window and escape that way, but the option was taken from him when his drunken father burst into his room, a half-empty bottle of liquor in one hand and something else in the other. Upon looking at it, the brown-eyed teen realized it was one of Carrie's shirts that he had missed when cleaning the house. She must have forgotten it, too, in her hurry to get home to her sister. How could he miss it sober when his alcoholic father found it drunk?

The drunk yelled at him, slurring and hardly understandable, but the message was clear. He was pissed again and thinking his son had a girl over to fool around with while his old man was gone. Jonouchi would have told him that he let Carrie over to give her a place to stay while she was kicked out of her home by her own abusive father, but it would have made little difference. Arguing with his father never did anything. It only served to further enrage the man. So he stood there silently while his father continued to yell at him, knowing the worst was yet to come. He couldn't escape now.

His father dropped Carrie's shirt to the floor and then he swung the bottle of liquor, hitting his son in the head. The bottle shattered upon impact, scattering glass shards and booze all over the room while also causing Jonouchi a lot of pain. The blonde staggered to the side a few steps, holding his aching head in his hand as he hunched over from the pain assaulting him. His father proceeded to beat him in his drunken rage, something Jonouchi had not experienced in quite some time. He usually escaped the man's wrath by being out of the house because he was accustomed to the drunk's cycle. This time, however, he had been caught off-guard and couldn't get away. He just curled up in a ball and waited for it to be over.

It only took a few minutes, but it felt like hours of pure torture. Jonouchi tasted blood in his mouth from him biting the side of his cheek to keep from crying out and felt tears in his eyes, but he wouldn't let them fall as long as his father was still in the room. The drunk muttered something unintelligible before stumbling out of his son's room, slamming the door shut behind him. Once again Jonouchi was alone, but now he didn't enjoy the loneliness. He was beaten and bruised and immense pain; he wondered if he would be able to move if he wanted to do so without screaming in agony. He forced his eyes to open all the way, releasing the flood of tears he had wanted to keep back. Their gaze came to rest on the light blue shirt Carrie had accidentally left behind, the long-sleeved top with lace on the edges. He hadn't seen her wear it—she had only stayed with him a day and left the house in her school uniform—but he imagined she might look good in it.

Without being fully conscious of it, he reached out and took the shirt in his hand, drawing it close to him and then burying his face in it. It had her scent, a mixture of lilacs and jasmine along with something that shouted her name, and somehow he found comfort in the blue fabric's caress on his face. Maybe he could find the same strength Carrie had from it, but that was unlikely. He could only wish for it, wish to be free and strong like she was now, and wait out his misery.

He let his tears flow freely, wishing for a way out of this, his only companion the scent of a girl who was almost equally broken.

* * *

><p>Carrie was the first to see Jonouchi the next day as she had arrived at school at the exact same moment as he had. She lost her smile as soon as she saw him—he regretted seeing it go. He knew she saw them just as he had seen hers before and that she would know who was responsible for them. How could she not see the ugly green-and-purple welts on his exposed flesh and the cuts on his face from the shattered glass of bottle of liquor his father had hit him with? There was no way he could hide them and especially not from the girl who used to be in his place.<p>

"What happened to you? Why are you covered in bruises?" Carrie demanded.

"Yeah, Jonouchi. What happened?" Anzu asked.

"Are you okay?" Yugi wanted to know.

Only Honda said and asked nothing. Being Jonouchi's friend the longest, the brunette boy knew far too well what had happened to the blonde boy and why he was covered in bruises and that he was far from okay. But it wasn't his place to explain it to the others. Anzu and Yugi knew some of what Jonouchi's father was like. Carrie knew less. If Jonouchi wanted them to know more, he'd tell them himself.

"…It's nothing. My old man just came home last night and gave me a present, that's all," Jonouchi replied casually, pulling Carrie's shirt out from inside his jacket and holding it out to her. "You forgot this."

Carrie took the shirt, but her eyes never left his face. "I thought you told me your father hadn't hurt you in a long time. You said you were always out of the house whenever he was at his worst. Were you lying to me, or did something set him off so quickly that you had no chance to get away from him? Tell me the truth, Jonouchi."

He sighed. "He found the shirt and thought I slept with a girl in our house while he was gone. If he hadn't found it, I would have gotten out of the house before he became angry enough to come after me. I wasn't lying to you, Carrie. He hasn't hurt me in a long time. Last night was the first time in several months."

The blonde girl bit her bottom lip and looked down at the light blue shirt in her hands. "…So…It's my fault, then…"

"Don't you go blaming yourself for this. You just forgot it and I missed it when I cleaned the house. It's no one's fault but his. Don't blame yourself for it," Jonouchi interjected a little ruder than he would have liked, but he didn't want Carrie feeling guilty about something she had no control over.

"If you need a place to stay to get away from your father for awhile, you can stay with us," Honda offered. It wouldn't be the first time Jonouchi had hidden out at his home and he seriously doubted it would be the last.

Jonouchi gave him a small smile. "Thanks, but I think I'll pass this time. Last time I was there your sister was putting the moves on me. I don't think I could handle that again, no offense to her or to you."

"I'd help you out if I could, but my parents won't let me have boys over," Anzu told him.

"Grandpa's the same way. He only wants me to invite girls over, but for completely different reasons," Yugi bashfully admitted.

"You can stay with me, Jonouchi," Carrie said, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"…What about your mother? Won't she get mad?" he asked.

"I don't care about her. She's no threat without Carl to back up her words with his fists. Her anger is as harmless as a butterfly," Carrie muttered. Her beautiful green eyes met his, and for a moment, his heart seemed to stop. "You helped me when I had problems with my father. Now it's my turn to help you."

"…Okay." He couldn't argue with her, not that he would want to, anyway. She could be very persuasive if she wanted to be, though her methods of persuasion usually involved her kicking some ass and not using such kind words. Besides, she was his friend and she did kinda owe him sine he was keeping quiet about walking in on her naked. Not that he would hold that over her head… at least, not forever… "But if anything goes wrong, I'm leaving so you don't get in trouble with your mom."

Carrie rolled her eyes. "Sure, whatever. I just told you that she's no threat, but you do what you want."

"All right, you guys. Let's get to class before the bell tolls," Anzu remarked as the masses started moving towards their classrooms. "Hopefully, we don't have any more out-of-the-ordinary issues today."

"Come on, Anzu. Are we ever that lucky?" Honda teased.

They went to class as usual. It was the same as usual, too, with the normal work and the normal taunts and the normal bullying. It wasn't as bad as it had been a couple of days ago since the other students knew Carrie was not distracted by her emotions anymore. Everyone knew her father was dead and she was free from his abuse. Without his hurting hands to weaken her, Carrie stood strong and no one dared to elicit her wrath unless they wanted to be hurt. Her smile was preferred to her fists any day, even to those that weren't the slightest bit fond of her. A happy Carrie was less likely to knock their lights out than a bitter, pissed off Carrie.

The unspoken, unexpressed respect the students at Domino High had for her made Jonouchi feel a bit of pride for his female friend. She had only been in Japan for a couple of months now, but already she had found her place and made sure everyone else knew it, too. He had never seen anyone else adapt as quickly as she had—even with her handicap at the beginning with the reluctance to talk to anyone, she still beat all the other new students at fitting in—and that impressed him more than he thought it would. Looking at her now as she watched the teacher write on the chalkboard and didn't let the whispers of jealous girls bother her, he realized how strong she really was without having to be physically strong.

Could he ever be that strong?

He sure hoped so, or else he would never escape the pain.

* * *

><p>"Let's go to the middle school first. I want to walk home with Jessica today," Carrie said as she and Jonouchi left the high school at the end of the day. A big smile came onto her face as she added, "I haven't walked with her for years. It'll brighten her day to see me outside of the house for once. Oh, I can't wait to see her face! She's gonna be so happy!"<p>

Seeing Carrie excited for once was a nice change, and Jonouchi couldn't help the smile that came onto his face when he saw her expression. He could almost feel her excitement and happiness like it was his own. He understood it well enough—if he saw his sister again, he imagined he would be just as happy and excited, if not more so. Shizuka meant as much to him as Jessica meant to her. That was another thing they had in common. There were so many things they had in common…How come he hadn't seen it before recently? It was so strange that two people could be so similar…

She ran towards the front of the middle school, ignoring the bratty little teens leaving the building, and Jonouchi had to speed up to keep up with her. The dark-haired girl had her head hung as usual, but when she heard her big sister calling her name her head shot up and surprise shone in her pink eyes. Jessica froze in place as Carrie reached her and wrapped her little sister in her arms, not caring that she was hugging her sister in public. Despite living with her in hell for so long, she hadn't been able to express her love for Jessica because of Carl keeping them apart with the abuse. Jessica was stiff at first, but her inner joy made her return the gesture just as tightly. It was a sight to behold.

"Carrie, what are you doing here?" Jessica asked as her sister pulled away.

"We're free now, Jessie. I wanted to see you outside of the place that has been our torture for so long. We're sisters—we should have a stronger relationship," Carrie told her.

Jessica gave her a small smile. "You're right." She glanced past her sister and noticed Jonouchi with emotionless eyes. "Who's he?"

"Oh, him. He's my friend, Jonouchi Katsuya. Jonouchi, this is my sister, Jessica West," Carrie introduced. "He's going to be staying with us for a few days because…Uh, well, he's having problems with his father and needs to stay out of his hair. I owe him for helping me out when I was having issues with Carl, so…I hope this is okay with you."

"Sure, sure. It's fine. I understand. He's got an abusive son of a bitch for a father just like you had," Jessica muttered. She turned to Jonouchi. "So…Jonouchi Katsuya, huh? That's a mouthful even for a Japanese name. I'm just going to call you Joey. It's not long or hard to say, and I like it more."

He shrugged. "Call me whatever you want, Jess. I don't mind as long as you don't decide to kick my ass."

Jessica grinned. "Don't call me Jess and I won't kick your ass."

The trio headed towards the house where the Wests lived. Jonouchi remained silent as the sisters chatted eagerly about things they hadn't been able to talk about even while living in the same house for all these years. In this, he and Carrie had another similarity, though under different terms. He hadn't spoken to Shizuka since their parents' divorce just as Carrie and Jessica hadn't spoken since the abuse started. The difference was Shizuka was living elsewhere while the West sisters lived in the same place. Still, the result was the same. Their bonds were weaker than they could be, and these two were now getting the chance to strengthen those sibling bonds. He was kinda jealous, but glad for their bliss at the same time.

Carrie's orange-haired blue-eyed mother stood at the front door when they arrived. Red blotches were under her eyes, a sign that she had been crying a lot recently. Jonouchi had expected her to be a brutal-looking woman from the way Carrie described her and her way of hurting people with words, but she wasn't. It was obvious where Carrie got her good looks from. The color of her hair and her eyes were inherited from Carl for sure, but everything else was from her mother. There was some bitterness in her expression as she looked at her daughters, but he could also see the relief there. Despite loving her abusive husband, Megan was relieved to be rid of him.

"What is he doing here?" Megan demanded with a harsh tone.

The coldness that came into Carrie's eyes then was something Jonouchi hadn't seen since they became friends. He remembered her saying how her mother had abused her with words over fists; it had been Megan's way of dealing with her own pain by causing hurt to others. That hadn't gone away from her yet, so Carrie wasn't about to treat her any differently for it. Jonouchi couldn't blame her. He had an estranged relationship with his own mother ever since she left him alone with his father and took his sister away from him. Their relationship was as likely to mend as it was for it to start raining pizza.

"He's staying here to escape problems at his home. That's all you need to know," Carrie replied without emotion.

Megan's brow furrowed. "Don't talk like that to me, girl. I am your mother and your only guardian now. You will treat me with respect. I brought you into this world. I can take you out just as easily."

"Yeah right. Some mother you are," Jessica muttered.

"Shut your damn mouth, Jessica!" Megan snapped. "Just you wait until your father gets home! He'll put you in your place! Just you wait!"

Jessica rolled her eyes. "My father isn't here. He's in the States in whatever place it is that he lives and that you went when you slept with him to create me. If you're talking about Carl, he's dead. He's not going to come here and 'put us in our place' anymore. So maybe you're the one who should be shutting her damn mouth, not me."

Tears welled up in the hurting woman's eyes and she ran back inside without saying another word. Jessica exchanged glances with Carrie before both girls started into the house. Reluctantly, Jonouchi followed, a little unnerved by how Jessica had undermined her mother as she had. Sure, Megan had said some mean things, but she had suffered the same physical abuse as her daughters. Did she really deserve to be reminded of the death of her husband, who she loved wholeheartedly despite being abusive, like that? Maybe it had something to do with her being a young teen full of raging hormones that made her more rebellious and rude than older teens, but he couldn't be sure.

"Megan won't bother us anymore. She's in her grieving," Carrie told Jonouchi as she and her sister deposited their school stuff on the couch in the living room. "I'll go change into something more casual and then we can go get you some clothes for the week besides your uniform. If you wear that for more than a day…I don't even want to imagine the smell that would come from you."

Jonouchi rolled his eyes with a small smile at her remark about his body odor. "If you insist, I'm not gonna turn you down. But I don't wanna be blowing your money. Without Carl here to bring in the cash, you're gonna need all the money you can get."

"No we won't. The executives at West Intel Company sold the business off to another larger company and gave a good amount of the money to us. We're set for years, if not for life," Jessica stated, plopping down on the couch in front of the television.

"Really? Who bought it?" Jonouchi asked.

Carrie clenched her jaw and spit out the name with distaste. "Kaiba Corporation."

The blonde boy blinked. "Kaiba? You mean, as in Seto Kaiba? He has a company rich enough to buy out other companies? That's crazy! He's just a year or two older than we are! How can he be that rich already?"

"It's easy when you and your little brother get adopted by a billionaire that commits suicide after being humiliated by his heir," Carrie grumbled. Before Jonouchi could ask what she meant by that, the blonde girl disappeared up the stairs. "I'll be back in a few."

She came back down five minutes later wearing dark denim jeans, a long-sleeved lemon yellow shirt with glittery designs on it, and black converse high-tops that went up a good portion of her lower leg. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, exposing more of her face than Jonouchi had ever had the chance to see. In fact, none of her friends had had the chance to see more than a little of her face because she always kept it hidden in the shadows behind a curtain of her hair. Only a few strands fell in her face now, and the way they fell further accented her beauty in his eyes. It was all he could do not to stare too openly at her. She might take it the wrong way and hit him.

Carrie stuffed a leather wallet in her pocket and then grabbed his arm, pulling him back towards the front door. Jessica shouted her farewells to which her big sister replied in kind, each wishing the other a good afternoon in their separation. Her green eyes had lost all the coldness that had been there when she spoke to her mother and when she mentioned Kaiba Corporation, replaced by the brightness Jonouchi preferred. The smile that graced her lips as she pulled him along through Domino City was contagious; he couldn't stop himself from smiling, too, and felt his own happiness despite his miserable state. Even beaten and bruised, Carrie somehow managed to bring out the best in him. He wondered if that was her secret power that she herself was just discovering now that she was free.

Freedom seemed to do wonders to people.

* * *

><p>After shopping in various clothing stores to acquire everything Jonouchi would need while staying with Carrie, the duo decided to stop for dinner at Burger World since they only had enough money left on her for that place. Anzu would still be working her shift; it would be good to see another friend this evening. They were having such a good time that it seemed impossible for it to get any better. Jonouchi hadn't seen Carrie lose her smile this whole time, and that in turn kept a smile on his face. Her happiness was well-deserved and he was glad to see her enjoying herself so.<p>

Their brunette friend greeted them at the door, surprised by their appearance at her workplace, but knowing she could trust them not to spill about her breaking the rules by having a job while in school. She escorted them to an empty table that just happened to be between ones hosting the Muto family and Honda's obnoxious clan. This was unexpected—how likely was it for all of their friends to be in the same place at the same time?—but not unpleasant. It gave Honda an excuse to hand his bratty nephew over to his sister to leave the table and Yugi someone to talk to that was of his age. Jonouchi wasn't happy about the intrusion on his time with Carrie, but he didn't voice it. They were his friends, too, and they meant a great deal to him. He couldn't blow them off just because he had a silly crush on his newest friend. That would just be so wrong.

Carrie filled Honda and Yugi in on what she and Jonouchi had been up to this afternoon while they waited for Anzu to bring them their food. She had never spoken so much before—happiness made her such a chatterbox. But the boys didn't mind it as they knew she had been silent for far too long and was making up for lost time. Who were they to tell her to shut up? It wasn't like she was annoying, anyway, or boring or didn't have a reason to talk. The way her eyes lit up when she was relaying her story just added to the splendor of it all…Why hadn't Jonouchi seen it before? She was so…

"Here you go," Anzu said, interrupting Jonouchi's thoughts as she set his food and Carrie's in front of them. "Enjoy, and if it tastes bad, Honda made it."

"That's not cool, Anzu," Honda muttered, but at least he was grinning.

"She's just teasing you, Honda. That's what friends do," Yugi reminded him.

"If I wanted to be teased, I'd be sitting with my circus of a family instead of with my freak show of friends," Honda remarked. He sighed. "Then again, what's friendship without a little fooling around?" A mischievous gleam came into his eye as he turned his gaze to Jonouchi. "Speaking of fooling around…"

The brown-eyed boy glared at his brunette friend. "Don't you even-!"

"Plan on getting down and dirty with our well-endowed lady friend over here?" Honda asked, gesturing with his eyes at Carrie.

A nerve throbbed in Anzu's forehead. "You'd better be glad I'm on the job or I'd so hit you in the head with a tray for that comment."

"Why would you do that? He's not insulting you," Jonouchi pointed out, though his eyes remained narrowed and focused on his best friend.

"Because he's suggesting that girls are only good for one thing and that's insulting to me! As if a boy and a girl can't be friends without doing things behind the scenes. Ha! You're such a pervert, Honda! I wonder why I'm even friends with you," Anzu growled.

"You're right, Anzu. Honda is a pervert," Carrie agreed though unlike her female friend and Jonouchi, she was not glaring at the brute. Rather, she just continued eating her dinner like nothing had happened. "But he's completely wrong when it comes to girls. We're not just for that dance with no pants behind closed doors and we can be friends with boys just as we can be friends with our own gender."

"So…You're not mad at him for suggesting you and Jonouchi are going to be more than friends?" Yugi inquired.

Carrie shook her head. "No." Then she sharply gave Honda a look that startled him a little with how bitter it was. "But if you ever make a comment about the size of my chest again, I will knock you on your ass so fast you won't know what hit you and then I'll make it so there are three girls among our group of friends. Get the picture, Honda?"

The brunette boy gulped. "Yeah…I get it."

"Good," Carrie said, her smile returning.

"Score one for the girls," Anzu commented with a triumphant grin. "Well, I have to get back to work now. See you guys at school tomorrow. Have a great night."

Honda's crazy clan called for him at the door, forcing him to take his leave. Then Grandpa told Yugi it was time to go home, so soon it was just Jonouchi and Carrie again. They finished their dinner in relative silence, a welcome change after Honda's obnoxious comments. The boy kept sneaking glances at her as they ate though he didn't know why he did so. It wasn't like he hadn't seen her before; he was the first person in school to talk to her when she first came to Domino City, after all. But now that he had some feelings for her, he couldn't stop himself from looking at her even though it made him hate himself for doing it. She was his friend, not an object for him to stare at for pleasure or the like.

Anzu returned to the table one last time, holding two cones of chocolate ice cream in her hands. Apparently, an old married couple thought they were an item and treated the duo to dessert because the elders thought they made a cute couple. Jonouchi and Carrie awkwardly accepted the cones and waved their thanks to the old people, too embarrassed to admit the truth of their relationship. The blondes just bid Anzu good night and slipped out into the fading light of day, holding their cones in one hand and the shopping bags containing Jonouchi's new clothes on the other arm.

Carrie laughed at the misunderstanding as they walked back towards her house, glowing with happiness. She even seemed to be dancing a little in her strides—her hips swiveled from side to side with every graceful step she took. Jonouchi actually had to force himself to look at her face though his eyes kept wanting to look elsewhere. She didn't notice his inner struggle at all, luckily, as she was lost in her own world while absentmindedly licking her ice cream. Some of the creamy substance got on her cheek, but she didn't notice its presence on her face. Jonouchi knew she would feel goofy if she found out it had been there the whole time and he didn't point it out until later, so he made a move to help her out even though it made his heart race just thinking about touching her.

"Ya got a little something on your cheek, Carrie," Jonouchi told her, gesturing at the general area because he didn't want to touch her. Well, he _did_ want to touch her, but he was afraid of how she would react.

"Oh, I do?" She wiped her cheek with the back of her sleeve, but missed the ice cream. "Did I get it?"

"No. It's right…here," Jonouchi said, dropping his bags for a second so he could wipe the ice cream away with his thumb. Feeling the soft, smooth skin of her cheek sent shivers down his spine, but he refused to let them take over. With great hesitation he looked towards her eyes only to find that she was already looking at him. He felt his face grow warm and he was sure he was flustered; he worried what she would think of him then.

"Thanks, Joey," Carrie murmured, calling him by the nickname her sister had given him. "…You've got a little something on your face, too…"

"…I…I do?" Jonouchi asked—it was his turn to be embarrassed.

"Yeah. It's right…" She trailed off, dropping the bags on her arm as she moved closer to him. He could feel her breath on his neck and her scent filled his nose, tormenting him with thoughts of pleasure that he would never experience. Still his heart raced, speeding with feelings he wished he didn't feel, going ever faster as she came ever closer. Then she put her cone in his face, smearing her ice cream all over him and shocking her poor friend. She laughed as she added, "There. It's right there."

"Oh really? Well, you got some more right here," Jonouchi countered as he returned the favor and smeared his chocolate ice cream all over her.

"Joey! How dare you!" Carrie snapped, but she was laughing and far too happy to be angry at him for taking revenge. She picked up her shopping bags, discarding her empty cone in a nearby trashcan now that it had no purpose, and Jonouchi followed her example. "Well, now that we're both sticky-faced, we should probably go home and get cleaned up. Just don't walk in on me while I'm in the shower again, okay? That one time you got away with it, but never again. Understand?"

"Is that why you decided to let me stay with you? To ensure I wouldn't blab about seeing you naked?" Jonouchi teased.

Carrie grinned. "Not at all, Joey. You're a friend in need, and friends help one another. Besides, no one would believe you if you said you saw me naked, so it doesn't matter."

"You're right. Let's just put the past behind us and look forward to a bright future," Jonouchi remarked. Without him realizing it, his free hand reached for hers and took it. When he felt her skin against his, he immediately flustered and worried what Carrie might think of him or what she would do. But she just smiled and gripped his hand in turn, acting no different than before. He didn't know what this meant.

What did it mean exactly?

If only he knew…

* * *

><p><em>AN: So Jonouchi has feelings for Carrie and this chapter mostly revolved around our blonde punk. What did you think of this chapter? Please tell me without being rude or anything like that. Thank you for reading, and have a fantastic day!_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: My apologies for not updating sooner, but I was busy and unable to type for that reason as well as lack of motivation. Here's another chapter for Ice Cream Shipping! Please read on and enjoy, my friends!_

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 4<span>

Carrie's friendship became invaluable for Jonouchi over the next couple of weeks. She went out of her way to make things easier for him since his injuries were a bit debilitating and kept him out of the path of danger when it came to his father. The blonde boy knew that drunk would come looking for him—he always did when his son went missing—and didn't want to face that or have Carrie hurt as a result. She brushed aside his worries, unafraid of Jonouchi's father unlike how she had feared her own. The strength radiating from her in turn gave him strength to hold his head high without any reluctance. If he wanted to be worthy of her heart, after all, he couldn't be anywhere near weak.

He caught himself thinking about her almost every waking moment of the day and dreaming of her every sleeping moment of the night. It was all due to that silly crush he had developed on her; he hated feeling like this. The wet dreams he had involving her just made him ashamed whenever he looked at her. She was such a good friend and he should only think of her as such no matter what. What made it even worse was those dreams were happening in her house while he slept in the room across the hall from hers. She was so close to him then and could easily make those inappropriate dreams a reality, but he hated himself for that kind of thought. Why couldn't he be content with her friendship? Why did his heart always want more? Why did his aching soul have to be so damn greedy all the time?

Perhaps it was because he had gone through most of his life unloved. His father had always been a drunken gambler with no room in his heart to express anything even close to love to anyone. His mother had loved him, but then she had abandoned him to his father's lifestyles because she couldn't stay anymore. His dear sister Shizuka had loved him with all her heart as a sister should, but they had been separated for years and though their love for each other hadn't diminished, he had long been outside its warm light. His friends were fine, but that love wasn't the kind he needed. His heart needed something stronger, something more, something that would raise him up and make him feel like somebody important and not just another person in this world. If that was true, then perhaps his mind thought that only one who knew his pain could give him that kind of affection. Perhaps a part of him believed that only Carrie could fill that hole inside of him now and hoped that the same could be said for her heart.

_I shouldn't think this way. Her heart is still so closed, and we just met not that long ago, _Jonouchi thought bitterly as he waited downstairs for Carrie to finish changing out of her school uniform so they could go out. _She's just a friend…A really good friend who I can really relate to in certain things…And she has a nice body. No, wait. No, no, no…No thoughts like that. I don't like her like that. We're just really good friends. A guy and a girl can be friends without one liking the other. I have to get my head out of the gutter._

Megan wandered by, looking lost as she absentmindedly went about cleaning the house. She was an odd woman in her own ways, but at least she wasn't hateful to her daughters anymore. With all the time that had passed since Carl's unexplained death, she had lightened up and become a better mother and a decent woman. Carrie and Jessica had, in turn, begun to show her a little more respect, though they weren't quick to forget how she had demeaned them with words while Carl had hurt them with violence. It was a long road to recovery, but Jonouchi was sure the girls might eventually regain their trust with their mother and move on from the past. She seemed kind enough underneath the hard exterior she developed as a result of being abused, and things had only gotten easier since they put that abusive bastard in the ground a couple of weekends ago.

Jessica was taking a nap on the couch in the living room while her mother cleaned and her sister changed. Even after staying here for a few weeks, Jonouchi had never seen that girl leave the house or do anything other than sit on that sofa and watch TV. He had asked Carrie about it once, and she had replied that Jessica had not made friends yet due to her attitude as well as the attitude of those in her class, so she had no reason to be out. Also, the girl was too lazy to do her homework until the absolute last minute. Carrie had to force the pink-eyed rebel to do anything other than sleep. It was a struggle, but one worthwhile that hadn't happened before Carl's death. As she put it, it was nice to see Jessica's little quirks instead of her pain. Jonouchi had to agree; quirks would always win out over pain.

Carrie descended the stairs, and Jonouchi could almost swear that she seemed more beautiful every time he saw her. She had changed into a pair of dark blue denim jeans and a pale lavender T-shirt, something she hadn't been able to wear for a long time due to the bruises, along with her black converse shoes. Her hair, which she wore down to school, was pulled up in a low ponytail Now that her physical injuries were fading into nothing, her emotional and mental afflictions were healing as well, which in turn made her a happier person and that happiness created a lovely glow around her that just accented the beauty she already possessed. She caught him staring and smiled; he looked away, embarrassed, and felt his face grow warm. If she noticed she didn't give any indication of it as she strode right past him towards the door. He slowly followed.

They walked down the road together, heading towards Yugi's grandfather's game shop. He did his best to keep his gaze away from her, to be a friend and not a creep with a crush, but he couldn't stop himself from glancing over at her every now and then. She didn't notice as her eyes were fixated straight ahead, never turning to the side because there was no reason for it, and for that he was grateful. He didn't know how she might react if she saw him looking at her nor did he want to find out. He liked their friendship as it was and didn't want to ruin things with stupid feelings inside his heart. She couldn't possibly feel the same way…

But then he remembered the incident with the ice cream and couldn't help but hope she might even against the odds.

"Are you okay, Jonouchi? You've been acting a bit strange lately," Carrie said suddenly, looking over at him with concern.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine. Just…You know, adjusting to everything as best I can," Jonouchi lied, trying to play it cool. He had no idea if he was pulling it off very well, though.

"I guess it might be a bit difficult adjusting from living with one drunken man to living with two teenage girls and their mother," Carrie murmured while giving no indication of if she believed her friend or not. "It never crossed my mind how hard it might be to adjust. You know, since I've been stuck in the same situation for so long and never really had a chance to get out…Well, I guess we were both kinda stuck."

"Yeah, but we aren't anymore. You got free when Carl bit the dust and then you helped me to become free," Jonouchi commented.

Carrie gave him a grim smile. "You're not free quite yet, Joey. That bastard you call your father still has custody of you since you're still a minor. He could call the police to come get you if he wanted or just come after you himself. And unfortunately, no one in my house has the power to fight against that at the moment. If he decides he wants you back badly enough…He'll get you."

Jonouchi frowned. "I don't like the sound of that one bit." _I don't want that drunken ass separating me from you like that…I don't want to be separated from you at all. After everything he's put me through and all you've done for me…No. I won't go back. I'd sooner die, _he thought.

"Neither do I, and that's why I'm getting Megan to do something about it," Carrie stated. "Today she's looking into the laws of this city and going to find a loophole that removes you from that bastard's custody so you can be placed in hers. She's grown rather fond of you since I brought you home for the first time. Well, as fond as she can when you're eating most of the food in the house, that is. But anyway, she doesn't want you to be taken out of the home only to be pulled into a situation we all just escaped. So in other words, you're going to be free for real soon."

"That's awful nice of your mother to do for me, but doesn't she have to be a lawyer or attorney to do that kind of stuff? I mean, switching the custody of a kid has to be done in a courtroom," Jonouchi pointed out.

"She is a lawyer, Joey. She was one in the States and she's one here as well. And I used to hate to say this, but she's damn good at what she does. If anyone can get you away from your father, it's her," Carrie declared. Then she sighed. "Now if only she could have put those skills to work earlier to save us from our bastard…"

"You can't really blame your mom for that. She was in that abusive situation for a lot longer than you were and caved under the weight of the pain. She was never as strong as you are. That's the only reason she was ever hateful to you and Jessie….You two were the only things she could control. You have to remember that she loved Carl with all her heart despite everything he did to her and to you girls and that love kept her from being able to leave him or take legal action against him. It was the wrong kind of love, but even so, love makes people do crazy things," Jonouchi told her.

Carrie scowled and looked away from him. "If that's what love is, I don't want it."

"Love's not always like that," Jonouchi insisted.

"No, it's not always like that…But love almost always brings about pain to those it affects. I've had enough pain to last a lifetime. I don't want anymore and I don't want love, either," Carrie remarked.

Jonouchi managed to keep the same indifferent look on his face, but those words hurt him. He had known as soon as he realized he had a crush on her that winning her heart would be difficult…if he could win it at all. It was a task similar to climbing Mount Everest in the dark without any sort of equipment, and just as dangerous. One false move and he could lose everything. Even so, some part of him always thought he stood a chance…until now. She had made it pretty clear she had no interest in love; he couldn't exactly blame her for having such a negative view on the subject. Just looking at how she had grown up provided all the reasons for her hating the idea of love. Some part of him felt the same while the rest of him wished otherwise. But what was the point of wishing for love if the one he loved didn't want to love or be loved?

He held open the door to Grandpa Muto's game shop for her, forcing his smile to remain on his face despite his inner turmoil. Carrie appeared to be none the wiser for which he was grateful. He wouldn't want her questioning him about his feelings; that was doomed to fall apart the moment it started if it ever started. Jonouchi hated showing emotion unless it was absolutely necessary. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that any time soon and he could just enjoy his friendship with Carrie…Hopefully.

Yugi, Anzu, and Honda were in the back with the old man who ran the shop. Carrie didn't notice them at first—since she had never been here before, she was checking her surroundings out a bit. She seemed slightly impressed by all the games and Duel Monster cards around, but only slightly. Jonouchi figured it was because she was a pro-gamer and had seen it all before. He wondered what it must be like to be such a master at so many things and have seen so much in so few years. How experienced she really was made him somewhat jealous, but only somewhat.

"Hey, Carrie and Jonouchi," Anzu greeted as the blondes reached where the others were standing, smiling sweetly at the duo.

"Hey, guys," Carrie murmured.

"Sup?" Jonouchi grumbled.

"Carrie, I'd like you to meet my grandfather," Yugi introduced as the gray-haired man stepped towards the green-eyed girl and extended his hand. The tri-color-haired boy looked kinda nervous for some reason.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you," Carrie said, taking his hand.

"The pleasure is mine, young one. Yugi has told me so much about you, and I must say, you're much bustier than I thought you'd be. Why, you must beat our little Peach Blossom here by at least six or eight centimeters!" Grandpa commented a little too eagerly while shaking her hand a little too fast.

"Dude!" Honda exclaimed in shock of the old man's comment.

"Grandpa!" Yugi shouted, face-palming.

"This again…," Anzu muttered, irritated by Grandpa's remarks about the size of her bust.

Carrie ripped her hand out of his and looked at him with wide eyes while Jonouchi just glared at the back of Grandpa's head. He seemed unfazed by their reactions, but mostly because he was used to being judged for his wild comments about women. She quickly distanced herself from the old man and crossed her arms over her chest to diminish how noticeable her bust was. No one could blame her for that, futile as it was, because if they were in her place they'd want their chests to disappear, too.

"…Is…Is he always this creepy?" Carrie finally asked of Yugi.

"Unfortunately, no. He's usually much creepier," he bashfully admitted. "But I'm sure we haven't seen the worst of him yet. He'll only get worse as time progresses, no doubt."

"Yugi, you know me so well," Grandpa proudly remarked.

"Let's not stick around to hear him make such creepy comments. Let's go out and do something for once instead of lounging around this place with that guy," Jonouchi suggested. "I don't care what we do, really, just as long as we're not around here where Yugi's gramps can make Carrie uncomfortable."

"Oh? And what about me?" Anzu demanded, crossing her arms as she looked at the blonde boy bitterly.

"And you, too. We wouldn't want our little Peach Blossom to be uncomfortable, either," Jonouchi added.

"How kind of you to consider me," Anzu grumbled sarcastically.

"Come on, guys. Let's not argue over the little things. Save your anger for something big and then knock each other out," Honda put in.

"Jonouchi's right. We should go out for once instead of staying here," Yugi agreed, mostly because he wanted to get away from awkward situations with his grandfather involving his female friends. "There are so many things we could do other than hang here and play games from the shop. We never do anything and we should. We have lives, people, so why not use them for something other than games?"

"What do you suggest we do, Yugi?" Anzu wanted to know.

"Anything we want," Yugi replied.

"What do you want to do, Carrie?" Honda asked, turning to her.

Carrie blinked. "Me? Why me?"

"Well, you are the newest member of the gang. Being new has its privileges," Jonouchi explained. "You throw out ideas of what we can do, but keep this in mind. You don't get to decide just because you're a newbie. That's for us senior members to choose."

"Actually, I think Anzu and Yugi are the only senior members of the gang. They've been friends with each other longer than we've been friends with them," Honda said.

"No, no, no. They haven't been friends as long as we've been friends. They didn't start the gang by themselves, you know. Also, it was the start of my friendship with Yugi that started the gang. Therefore, the real senior members of this group would be me and Yugi. You and Anzu are just regular old members and Carrie is a newbie," Jonouchi clarified.

"Why can't we all just be on equal ground with one another?" Anzu inquired, exasperated by all this unnecessary ranking.

"I don't wanna be by myself in this," Carrie agreed, equally annoyed.

"All right then. Just throw an idea out there and we'll do it," Jonouchi insisted.

Carrie thought for a moment, and Jonouchi found himself somewhat enthralled by her then. Her beautiful green eyes took a special kind of shine to them and her bottom lip pouted out a bit when she was thinking. The left corner of her mouth went up a little while she absentmindedly twirled a strand of her golden hair around a dandy finger. All of these things were barely noticeable; anyone else would have probably overlooked them. But he was not anyone else—he was a teenage boy with a crush on this teenage girl. He noticed everything about her and what she did…He just wished he didn't so their friendship could be normal on both ends.

"…Why don't we go to the mall and just hang out? We can even shop…or just window-shop," Carrie suggested.

"The mall?" Anzu sounded confused.

"Doesn't everyone go to the mall?" Honda grumbled.

"Well…They do if they have friends and parents that aren't controlling or abusive," Carrie remarked with a bit of venom because of their lack of knowledge.

"Wait. Are you saying you've never been to a mall in your life?" Yugi asked.

"Oh no. I have been to a mall before. But I haven't been for fun since I was seven, and the last time I was at a mall ever was for a stupid gaming tournament Carl forced me to do. So yeah, I have been to malls…Just not for good reasons with friends or anything," Carrie told him.

"Oh…That makes more sense," Anzu murmured, feeling a bit ashamed.

"Well then, let's go to the mall!" Jonouchi declared.

"Don't forget to get some nice lingerie while you're out, girls!" Grandpa called as the teens headed out.

They couldn't leave faster.

* * *

><p>Once at the mall, the gang split in two. Anzu and Carrie stuck together and the boys went their own way. Jonouchi watched the girls go off, wishing he was going with them instead of having to stick with his own gender. They would meet later at the food court, he knew, but it wouldn't make the separation any easier. He didn't understand how he could feel this attached already—he wanted it to stop before things could spiral out of control. But could he? That was the question for which he had no answer.<p>

He hardly paid any attention to Honda or Yugi as they walked past the many stores in the mall. He just followed after, hands in his pockets, thinking of his problems and of Carrie. She was, of course, in the forefront of his mind, but he couldn't help but consider the issues with his father. He had little doubt that drunk was out looking for him—he always was whenever Jonouchi would go missing for more than a couple days. Before Jonouchi would have gone back to keep his old man from making a scene and also because he was a minor under the gambler's custody. That wasn't the case anymore. He had found his place in the West household amongst the women there and had discovered happiness where he believed there would be none. Carrie had opened his eyes to a new world when she had just found her way to it as well, letting him in even though she was still so unsure about what lied in it herself. She was willing to put so much on the line for him as was her estranged mother who hadn't even tried to get away from her misery. And Jessica…She was just like a little sister to him and reminded him of Shizuka, and though that made his heart ache somewhat, he was also glad for it.

To have found so much only to have it taken away…He didn't like the idea of it.

He would hate the reality of it even more.

"So, Jonouchi," Honda said suddenly as he slapped his friend on the back. "Have you asked Carrie to the dance yet?"

"…I have no idea what you're talking about," Jonouchi muttered.

"You know, the Super Special Spring Dance that's being held next week. The Spirit Club threw it together because they didn't think prom was enough," Yugi reminded him. "It's formal but it doesn't cost much to go and the preps responsible for its creation promise it's going to be a lot of fun. You and Carrie should go."

"Together," Honda added.

"Oh…Right. That stupid old thing," Jonouchi grumbled. "Why would I ask Carrie to go with me, though?"

"Because you, sir, have a serious crush on that girl," Honda claimed.

Jonouchi shot him a dirty look that probably came off as being more flustered than anything else. "…I…I think you have it backwards, Honda. You're the one with a crush on Carrie, not me. I'm just her really good friend who happens to live with her because my drunken dad is an abusive drinker in more ways than one. That does not mean I like her anymore than just as friends."

"Oh, bull. I've seen the way you look at her, Katsuya. It's the same way I used to look at her and Miho before I realized I didn't stand a chance with either of them," Honda stated knowingly. "You have that look whenever she's around, and when she's gone you look like a dog without a bone or a little girl that was denied a cookie. And you look that way because she has your cookie or she's the one who gives you bones…If you get my meaning."

"Yeah, I got your meaning, you pervert," Jonouchi growled. "Too bad you're wrong. I don't like Carrie that way at all. You're imagining things out of jealousy because of how close she and I are."

"Actually, Jonouchi, I have to side with Honda on this. You are always staring at her with lost puppy-dog eyes and doing all sorts of nice things for her. Not only that, but like Grandpa said, she is pretty busty…and also very pretty. That added to her toughness and her similarities to you and it's obvious why you would have a crush on her," Yugi put in.

"Way to turn on me, Yugi," Jonouchi bitterly remarked.

"Why can't you just admit you like her?" Honda asked, curious.

"Are you afraid we'll judge you?" Yugi wanted to know, also curious.

"No! Well…Maybe a little…," Jonouchi admitted reluctantly as he turned his head away from his guy friends. He sighed—why keep lying if they already knew the truth?—and decided to unload. "…But…It's more than that. It's just…You guys know how Carrie is. It took her forever just to talk to us, let alone become our friend. She sees relationships as a means to cause pain because of her parents. She even told me before we met with you guys that she doesn't want love after seeing what it did to Mrs. West. Even if I had a chance of getting in her heart, she would never like me back. Not in a million years."

"Oh, come on, Jonouchi. Where's your confidence? You're never gonna win her heart with that attitude," Honda commented. "You gotta look on the bright side. You're already her closest friend. Love is just a step ahead of friendship. It may take awhile and she might not want it to happen, but no one can control when or who they love. Love is one of those things the heart does without our consent. If it's meant to be, it will happen."

Yugi blinked. "Honda…I had no idea you were such a romantic."

Honda blushed and quickly looked away, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Hang out with my annoying sister enough and you'd be spewing this crap, too."

"I'm not gonna force anything, and I'm not about to reveal my feelings to Carrie, either," Jonouchi told them pointedly. "But…I may ask her to that dance as a friend. Something may come of that if I'm lucky, though I seriously doubt it. We can just have a good time after all our hardships, you know? And like Honda said, if it's meant to be, it'll happen. If not, oh well."

"You should probably find her and ask her before we leave the mall so she can start finding a dress. Girls take awhile to do that kind of stuff," Yugi pointed out.

"Yeah…You're right. Girls are so weird…," Jonouchi agreed.

"You can't live with 'em, but damn they're good-looking," Honda put in.

The boys turned around and started heading in the direction in which the girls had gone. Jonouchi had no idea how Yugi and Honda had convinced him to do something he hadn't wanted to do so easily, but some part of him didn't mind. How bad could it be? The worst that could happen was her turning him down and stomping on his heart, but that last part would only happen if she knew of his feelings. As long as those two kept their mouth shut, he had nothing to worry about because he would never tell her himself. Everything would work out just fine…

That thought left his head as soon as he saw some drunk staggering through the mall near the entrance, carrying a bottle of liquor in one hand and a bat in the other.

Seeing his old man, Jonouchi quickly ducked behind a potted plant despite the distance between himself and his threat. The memory of how his father had degraded him the last time he had been in that house was at the forefront of his mind, reminding him how weak he could be whenever that man was around him. Yugi and Honda, though they didn't understand why Jonouchi had hidden himself so suddenly, were quick to follow him in case they were in danger as well, and also to receive an explanation. Jonouchi hardly noticed them—he was in too much of a panic.

"Jonouchi, what's wrong? Are you getting cold feet, or is it something else?" Yugi asked.

"…Drunk bastard found me…," Jonouchi stammered, glancing around nervously as if he thought his father would appear around the corner at any moment to beat him.

Honda looked around the corner and saw what his friend meant. "Shit, man. How'd he find you after all this time and in that state? It's so unlikely."

"What are we gonna do?" Yugi wanted to know, concerned for Jonouchi.

"We should get the girls and get the hell outta here before he sees us, and by us, I mean me and Jonouchi. He has seen me before and would recognize me even in this condition," Honda told the short violet-eyed kid. "He doesn't know you. You can sneak right on by and find Anzu and Carrie. I'll stay here to keep an eye out for the old man."

Yugi agreed that it made sense and ran off to find their other friends, leaving Jonouchi alone with Honda as his only defense. His friend really was his only defense for if that drunken fool found them, Jonouchi knew he would never be able to fight back. Like Carrie he could fight anyone else, but not his father. The power of the parent over the child, even in a situation like this, was far too overwhelming to overcome. Honda knew that and that was why he had chosen to stay besides the obvious fact that he would have been recognized by the person they were trying to avoid. All either of them could do was sit tight and hope for the best.

Several minutes later, Yugi reappeared with Carrie and Anzu behind him. The girls looked just as concerned as the others, but now that they were there the gang could leave. As Jonouchi stood his friends surrounded him on all sides to obscure him from the view of his father. Honda took the front since he was the tallest and he could block the blonde's face from view, Carrie took the right side, Anzu took the left, and Yugi took the back since he was the shortest in the group. They weren't very threatening or that much of a defense, but the brown-eyed boy appreciated the sentiment. But what he appreciated more than that was when Carrie reached over and took his trembling hand in her steady one with a gentleness he hadn't expected. He glanced down at their hands and then up at her, wondering why she had reached out to him now. She gave him a small, reassuring smile in which he found some strength that he had lacked. Having stood where he was now, she understood his weakness. This was her attempt to help him by giving some of her strength to him…And it was working enough that he wasn't shaking anymore.

Keeping their hands joined, the blondes moved with the others quickly towards the exit. The drunk wasn't visible—during all the panicking, they had unfortunately lost track of him—but they figured the sooner they got the hell out of there the better. The gang moved as fast as they could without making it obvious in case the bastard was looking in their direction. Jonouchi squeezed her hand tighter as they went, wishing to be anywhere with her but here. Not only was he in danger, but if they were spotted, all of his friends would be as well. He didn't want to put any of them in that kind of situation, but he really didn't want to risk Carrie's safety after what she had just escaped. He couldn't weaken her when she was just finding her strength again.

But just when it looked like they were in the clear, the groggily voice of the drunk cut through the air loudly with his son's name. The gang froze in their stride, and Jonouchi could feel the fear rising in him again as they slowly turned around to stare at the staggering man with the liquor and the bat. He could practically feel Carrie's anxiety as well which further fueled his own terror and thus he squeezed her hand tighter. He didn't want her to worry about him; it was his own fate to suffer like this. He was used to this by now since it had become his life forever after his mother left him with his sister. But why did his life have to come bite him in the ass when his friends and Carrie were around? Why did his suffering have to put them in harm's way?

His father started yelling in a slurred tone and swinging his bottle and his bat violently, attracting attention from other people in the mall. Honda tried to hold his position, but Jonouchi whispered for him to step back without giving him an explanation. Though he obviously didn't want to, the brunette fell back behind Jonouchi with Anzu and Yugi. Only Carrie stayed where she was despite the angry drunk coming towards them and she was not willing to even let go of his hand to escape the danger. Jonouchi tried to let go but she wouldn't let him. Her grip was firm even when the drunk came practically face to face with them. She stood her ground proudly and bravely without any sign of fear for her safety. Rather, she was only worried for her friend.

_Will I ever be that strong? _Jonouchi wondered, in new awe of her.

"Who the hell is this…?" Mr. Katsuya stammered, gesturing lazily at Carrie with his bat.

"A better person than you are, that's for sure," Carrie snapped.

"Carrie, don't," Jonouchi murmured in an almost begging tone.

"Oh…So…So you think you're better than me, huh?" Mr. Katsuya slurred angrily.

Carrie stepped between him and his son without letting her gaze falter. "I don't think I am. I know I am. And there's not one damn thing you can say that'll prove otherwise. If you were better than me, you wouldn't drink and gamble your life away. You wouldn't take your issues out on your only son whenever you get too drunk or waste too much money at the casinos or you just get damn paranoid. You're no father and you never have been one. You're worse than my father ever was. I don't know how you live with yourself with all the wrongs you've done in your life. I mean, how much farther can you fall before you realize you're done? You've lost your wife, your daughter, and now you're losing your son. How the hell can you still be like this after losing everything?"

The father seemed to come to some conclusion then. "Ah…You're the little slut Jonouchi had over and shagged while I was gone, aren't you…? That was your shirt I found on the floor near the door. Did you…Did you enjoy the wild sex you had with my boy? Huh? Did you?"

Carrie's brow furrowed. "I never slept with Joey. He and I are just friends, and for you to even picture us doing that…It's just wrong."

"Sluts are known to lie," Mr. Katsuya claimed.

"There is seriously something wrong with you," Carrie said bluntly.

"Oh, you think so?" Mr. Katsuya asked with a fake smile. That smile quickly disappeared as he, without warning, swung his empty liquor bottle and hit Carrie right on the head. Bystanders gasped. It brought back flashes of that night when he had done the same to Jonouchi, and that made the boy wince. Carrie was stunned momentarily from the impact, but because of being a victim of her own abusive father, it hardly affected her. She was looking at him defiantly again in seconds. Even drunk, he seemed a little surprised by her resilience as he had no idea about her past.

"Wanna try that again?" Carrie demanded, gesturing at the bat with her eyes. "Perhaps you'd like to try something a bit harder. But let's make a little game of it so it's not just me kicking your ass when you deserve it." She glanced back at Yugi to find that he was already staring at her, but he was no longer himself. Rather, he was Dark Yugi. She knew he usually participated in Shadow Games himself, but figured he might an exception this one time. She turned back to the disorderly father and said, "If you manage to knock me down, you can take Jonouchi away without any resistance from me." Her friend stared at the back of her head for having such an offer on the table and began to wonder how much she really cared about him. "But if I knock you down, you give up custody of Jonouchi to my mother and you never come near him again as long as you live. And also there's a penalty game awaiting the loser, but that's not important. Do you accept the terms, you drunk bastard?"

Instead of answering with words, Mr. Katsuya just tried to hit her with his bat. She caught it easily with her right hand without even looking away from the man's face, which surprised him as well as everyone watching. He attempted to punch her with his other hand, but she caught it just as easily. Then she kneed him in the groin, bringing him to his knees, and in one fluid motion delivered a spin-kick right into his forehead. The force of her attack coupled with momentum sent him sprawling on the floor, bordering on consciousness. She shook the rest of the glass shards out of her hair and stood triumphantly over him, not even having broken a sweat as a result of this so-called fight.

"I'll have my mother get in contact with you so you can work out handing over custody of your son to someone who actually cares about him," Carrie told him. "Oh, and enjoy reeling over everything you've lost. That's your penalty for losing."

And that was how Jonouchi came to realize he not only had a crush on Carrie, but he truly and actually loved her.

She was capable of anything for him…

And he was such a sucker for badass chicks.

* * *

><p><em>AN: End of another chapter. What did you think of it? Please tell me. Thank you for reading, and have a fantastic day._


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Sorry for not being quicker with the updates, but on the bright side I am out of school until August 9. I may not be able to write during this time for one reason or another—this is my last summer break, after all—but I'll try. But anyway, let's get back to the story. Please read on and enjoy._

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 5<span>

It was an interesting transition as Carrie watched Jonouchi be officially inducted into the West household. Megan took him out to personalize his room spending as much money as she wanted on him, and they even went out for a big fancy dinner once it was made official. Of course, she made it clear that Jonouchi was not to be her son or her daughters' brother by any means. She was to be his guardian and that was all. Carrie wondered why her mother had made such a distinction between him being a permanent guest and just another family member, but couldn't hazard a guess for that or the weird look that came onto her friend's face when Megan said that. It was just something she couldn't explain.

But that was nothing compared to the moment after she had defeated his father in a Shadow Game of her own creation. She had strode over to Jonouchi to see if he was all right only to have him ask her to that stupid Super Special Spring Dance the preps of the school had talked the faculty into throwing. Her first reaction was to laugh until she realized he was serious. He claimed he just wanted to go as friends, but somehow that didn't seem right. Even so, she had agreed to go only if Yugi went with Anzu and Honda with Miho. Blushing, the boys accepted the terms.

Now the day had come. Carrie didn't know if she should feel relieved or distressed about this. It meant the hours upon hours of looking for a dress and shoes and accessories were over, but now a whole new field of things to worry about had opened up. What if she made a fool of herself? What if something went wrong? What if she ended up getting into a fight with one of the preps that didn't like her for whatever reason? What if Jonouchi revealed he had more than friendly feelings for her? What if all of her friendships fell to pieces around her? These were just some of the worries that passed through her head as Jessica and Megan helped her get ready. There were many more to be had.

Jonouchi dressed in his room by himself since there wasn't a man in the West house to help him. He didn't need it, anyway. Unlike girls, boys didn't have to do much to get ready for anything fancy. They just had to run a comb through their hair and throw on a suit or tux. Carrie envied him, but knew she could not dress like a man to something like this. Sure, she had been wearing the boys' school uniform for some time now, but this was different. The girls at school would judge her even more if she didn't doll up for this dance and she didn't want to be judged or called lesbian. So she dealt with the hassles of being pretty for her own sake as well as her friend's. If Jonouchi was going to suit up, she might as well look her best to compliment him, right?

Jessica zipped her dress up the back for Carrie and moved aside so her sister could look at herself in the mirror. It was a pale blue, almost white, with lavender lace creating different designs upon the fabric. The sleeves, which were made of a light purplish translucent cloth, began half down her shoulders and descended down to her elbows. The bodice of the dress showed off a little more skin than she would have liked, but no other dress she tried on met her standards as much as this one. The skirt, which ended with the same material that her sleeves were made of, barely avoided touching the floor even when she wore her silver closed-toe dress shoes with a one-inch heel. She could have worn a taller heel to compensate but she refused to subject herself to the torture. A simple silver choker graced her throat and a matching bracelet rested on her left wrist. She had wanted to put one on both wrists, but Megan told her to leave one open for a reason Carrie wasn't sure of. Her nails had been done earlier by a professional and were the same shade of purple as her sleeves with silver designs like the lavender ones on her dress. Her hair had been curled and pulled up with a silver flower-shaped hairpiece to match the flower-shaped earrings dangling from her ears. She felt like a Barbie with all this attention to detail and the make-up, but it was all for respect and for her friends.

"…I feel strange," Carrie complained, brushing a pesky strand of hair out of her face.

"As you should. Dresses are ridiculous," Jessica muttered as she slapped her sister's hand down to her side. "Now stop fussing. It took forever to get your hair right and that make-up is a pain in the ass to fix once you mess it up."

"Watch your mouth, Jessica," Megan scolded, straightening the skirt of the dress before standing up beside her daughter. "And dresses aren't ridiculous. They help to accent a woman's beauty. I didn't think I'd have to deal with this for another year or two, but I suppose it's good practice for prom. You look beautiful, darling."

"Well, I feel like a clown in this gown and crap," Carrie grumbled.

"You'll get used to it," Megan assured her. "You and Joey deserve this night together. You've both been through so much and now you're both free. We're all free and have been since Wednesday. So you kids make sure to have fun and don't stay out too long."

"And if he has an erection lasting more than four hours, get him to a hospital," Jessica teased with an implication of things to come.

Carrie put her hands on her hips and glared. "Jessie, Joey and I are just friends. We're going to this dance as friends. We're going to leave this dance as friends. We're not gonna be doing anything even close to sex. Hell, we're not even gonna come close to kissing. So get your head out of the gutter, girl. Joey and I ain't gonna get down and dirty tonight or any other night. Get it? Got it? Good."

"Now Carrie, I wouldn't go making promises you can't keep. At my first formal dance I went with a friend, but we became much closer by night's end. We were getting hot and heavy long before I went home, and by sunrise I wasn't a virgin anymore. These kinds of things mess with the head and the heart and make people do crazy things," Megan put in. "It happens with girls especially since this atmosphere creates sorta a Cinderella effect on their minds. You and Joey might not expect it to happen, but it very well might. Just make sure he's being safe if it does."

"Mother!" Carrie exclaimed, shocked. "I can't believe you! Don't you trust me?"

Megan smiled. "Of course I do, honey, and I trust Jonouchi enough to let him take you to this dance without me chaperoning. But I'm just saying that if something does happen, you should be prepared to take precautions or face the consequences. All the other girls will be in the same situation as you."

"I'm not like the other girls, Mother. We're nothing alike. My mind doesn't work the same way theirs do and neither does my heart. By night's end I will still have my virginity and Joey and I will still just be friends," Carrie declared, leaving no room for argument. "Now let's go check on Joey, take those stupid pictures you want of us, and then get the hell out of here already."

"What? Are you in a hurry to get away from us because we know how these dances work?" Jessica taunted.

"Jessica, please. You only know from watching romantic movies and television shows. You've yet to experience the real deal, and when it's your turn we'll be teasing you about it," Megan remarked smartly as the females moved out of Carrie's room after over an hour of working within its confines.

Jonouchi was already out of his room and waiting for them downstairs. Carrie carefully descended them, feeling like an elephant with how nosy her shoes were and how dangerous they were on the wooden steps that suddenly seemed too narrow. She glanced down at her friend-date only to be stunned by how well that boy cleaned up. He had gone with an unconventional tux to stand out—instead of being solid black, it was a pale blue to match her dress. The shirt underneath his jacket was lavender and his bowtie was the same shade of purple as her sleeves. His shiny black shoes looked as though they had never been worn, which was probably the truth considering they had been bought on the same day Megan had taken him out on a shopping spree to celebrate his freedom. She managed to take her eyes away from him as a whole to focus on what was in his hand. A lavender corsage was held there. She wondered what it was for, but then the pieces fell together. That was meant for her and that was why her mother hadn't wanted her to wear bracelets on both of her wrists.

Her friend let out a long whistle as she came to stand in front of him, unintentionally making her feel even sillier than before. She felt her face grow warm and quickly looked away from him to hide her embarrassment.

"You look exquisite, Carrie," Jonouchi commented.

Carrie's head snapped back in his direction. "Exquisite? That's a pretty big word for you, isn't it? Did my mother tell you to use that?"

Jonouchi laughed. "Well, I did hear her using it when she was describing how you would look when she was through with you, but she didn't tell me to use it. It just sounded more sophisticated than pretty, lovely, or any of those words. You are very beautiful, no matter how it's said."

"Thank you, Joey. You're very handsome yourself," Carrie told him.

"You think so? I tried to look my best for you," Jonouchi said, and he extended the wrist corsage to her. "This is for you. Mrs. West told me it's traditional for the man to present his date with this kind of thing before they go to a formal dance."

"My mother seems to be an expert at everything involving formal dances," Carrie grumbled. Even though Megan's meddling bugged her to no end, she still held out her bare right wrist to him. "If you're going to give me one, you might as well do it correctly. I hear the guy's also supposed to slip it onto the girl's arm. I honestly don't know if that's really true, but I really don't feel like confirming it with my family at the moment."

"Are they driving you crazy?" Jonouchi asked as he awkwardly slipped the corsage on.

"It's a short trip for her," Jessica piped in as she and Megan descended the stairs. Both of them were carrying a camera, too, which resulted in Carrie groaning. "But it's really not our fault. She's being a big sourpuss about this whole ordeal and we're just trying to help. And Carrie Alyson West, don't you dare start complaining about the pictures. I wanna get some good ones of you to put on Facebook to share with the family. Alyssa will just love your dress, not to mention how much Uncle Maximillion will adore it. He might even say it's fabulous. Which it totally is. And you know how moms are when it comes to stuff like this. So suck it up, cupcake, and just deal with getting your picture taken for ten minutes. Then you can go off and party until three in the morning with your-friend-that-could-turn-into-your-first-love, our boy Joey."

Carrie wanted to hit her sister for making such a claim in front of Jonouchi, but refrained simply because it could result in her messing up something. She dealt with the annoying pictures and did her best to smile as each photo was taken. She didn't know how well she pulled off the gesture; it was good enough that her mother and sister didn't complain, at least. Jonouchi grinned right along with her, though his smiles were probably genuine in comparison to her somewhat forced ones. He didn't care about this silly formality that all mothers put their children through. She wished she could be that indifferent.

The last one was taken outside with the sunset behind them with Carrie standing in front of Jonouchi with his arms wrapped around her and his chin resting right on top of her head. It was such a strange pose for a mother and sister to force friends into just for a photo; Carrie wondered why they had done it. When she pulled away and glanced at Jonouchi's face, she was surprised to find him blushing. He noticed her stare and quickly turned away.

_What's going on here? I'm so confused, _the blonde girl thought, wishing this night was over already.

Megan had gotten a limo to take Carrie and Jonouchi and their friends to the location of the Super Special Spring Dance so they wouldn't have to walk there. It was a white one that Carrie thought was a little on the short side, but didn't want it to be any flashier than it already was because showing up in a vehicle like this was already pretty much showing off. She climbed in with Jonouchi right behind her and the driver took off for Yugi's where the others would be awaiting pickup. Jonouchi made a point to sit as far away from her as he possibly could, a move she found odd but didn't question. He would talk about it when and if he wanted.

Yugi, dressed in a dark blue tux, climbed in first and seated himself next to Carrie. Anzu followed him in, wearing a showy yellow gown with golden jewelry and open-toed shoes with a heel much too dangerous in Carrie's opinion, and sat at his side. The blue-haired Miho came in after her and sat near the doors, leaving the seat beside Jonouchi open. Her conservative dress was green with pink trim and her hair stayed in place thanks to a pink ribbon while her shoes were green flats and her jewelry was all silver. Honda joined the party last in his traditional black suit and took the last available seat. The group didn't match as a whole, but as their individual couples they didn't clash at all. Carrie couldn't help but feel awkward when she realized only she and Jonouchi actually matched each other perfectly and she was the only one to receive a corsage from her friend-date.

The ride to the place was filled with light conversation that Carrie stayed out of because she didn't really have anything to contribute to it. Anzu and Miho's parents had been just like her mother, as she had expected. However, she did not expect to hear that Honda's family had been just as insane when it came to those pictures or that Grandpa Muto had wanted them just as much. She was so used to hearing the girl's parents losing it over seeing their daughter dressed up for a big night. She never thought the guy's parents or guardians could be the same. Grandpa was kind of an exception, though—he probably just wanted to get shots of Anzu's breasts as best he could in that dress—but Carrie didn't completely doubt that old man wanting to record his little grandson going to his first formal event, either.

The lights of the building where this stupid little dance would be held filled their eyes as they stepped out of the limo. Other students from Domino High stopped and stared at the group in a mixture of surprise and distaste. Carrie had no doubt the attention only came from their having arrived in a fancy vehicle because very few of them had any popularity in this school. She took the lead with her friend-date and brushed past the jealous admirers, not deterred by their stares. The sooner this thing started, she reckoned, the sooner they could all go home.

_This place reminds me too much of prom, _she thought bitterly as she took in the inside while she and her friends gave the teacher at front their tickets for this thing. _It's decked out just like a prom would be, and look. There's even a vote for Super Special Spring Queen and King. This is pathetic. The underclassmen preps probably did this so they could get prom before prom is actually available to them. People these days…_

"Who's your date, Katsuya?" some guy asked as the group made their way to the table they had signed up for when they had bought their tickets.

"What, you can't recognize her?" Jonouchi teased with a broad smile. "It's Carrie."

The guy appeared taken aback, as did those that were with him. "Dude, no way! That's Carrie? But…But she's so hot! How can that be Carrie?"

"You dumbass! Carrie's always hot! You just got your head stuck so far up your ass that you haven't seen her good looks until just now!" Honda shouted.

Carrie felt like face-palming but didn't because she didn't want to ruin her make-up and give people a reason to laugh at her. _This is going to be a long night._

* * *

><p>By eleven Carrie just wanted to go home. Four hours had really taken its toll on her, but she couldn't say it was all bad. Many guys had asked her to dance; she assumed it was because they didn't recognize her and just thought her to be another pretty face. She accepted only those who weren't complete scumbags and got out on the dance floor along with all her friends despite the stares she received from the oblivious and jealous. Though she had wanted their respect, she found that she really didn't have anything to prove at the end of all this. No, she was only here to have fun.<p>

The only times she didn't dance with unfamiliar boys were when slow songs came on. When they did, she made it a point to find her male friends amongst the faces and dance with them. Only two had played since this event began because the school staff hadn't wanted to encourage the students to get too close to each other in a slow motion like that. Honda hadn't minded much, though he didn't want to leave Miho for long since he still had such strong feelings for the poor blue-haired girl. The only problem lied in keeping his hands from wandering to places they shouldn't go. Yugi had blushed adorably the whole duration of their dance, something Carrie couldn't help but smile at as she spun around the floor with him. Jonouchi had yet to have his turn with her, but she assured him it would come before the night's end even if it meant they would have to dance in the streets to a nonexistent song.

But what really made Carrie want to go home were the scheming preps running this show. They had been staring and judging her all night—even now as she sat at her table to take a break from dancing, she could feel their eyes on her—and she had no doubt in her mind they were making snide comments about her just out of earshot. She also didn't doubt they had some sort of plan in mind to get at her for being the center of attention in their place. She just didn't know what nor did she want to find out. However, as much as she wanted to escape their cruelty, she couldn't bring herself to bail out on her friends. This night had been the most fun thing they had done since becoming acquainted. She couldn't ruin their good night just because she felt apprehensive about those preps. For all she knew, she was just being paranoid.

"You look beat," Yugi commented, sitting down across from her with a cup of soda in each hand. He held out one for her to take, which she did, before adding, "I hope it's for good reasons and not bad."

"…It's kinda a mixture of both," Carrie reluctantly admitted. "I'm tired from all the dancing, for sure, but I'm also…"

"…Worried about the girls and all their whispering?" Yugi assumed. "Yeah, you're not the only one that has noticed it. We all have. They're jealous that all the guys have been looking at you since you walked through the door, and as the saying goes, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. In this case…Well, it's more than one woman scorned by the ignorance of the guys here, so…"

"It's going to end badly for me. Story of my life, I suppose," Carrie grumbled. "Well, whatever happens, I'm not going to let it get to me. It'll bother them more if I stay here than if I go, so I won't give them the pleasure of seeing us leave. Maybe in another time, things would have played out differently…back when I was all alone and had nothing to stand for…But that's in the past now. I am not the same broken girl I was when I faced judgment for hurting Anzu. I am stronger now."

"I must agree. You are stronger," Dark Yugi said, startling Carrie by his sudden appearance. "I was right to spare you that night. The darkness of pain that clouded your heart then has been replaced by the light of joy. It is a welcome change."

"…Have…Have you revealed yourself to judge my soul once again?" Carrie asked worriedly. She had always known she would have to face that other side of Yugi again because she was in his debt; he had, after all, given her a reason to live when she could not find one on her own and he had helped her to have friends when her heart needed them the most. She just didn't expect for it to be so soon.

"Relax, Carrie. I am not here to challenge you. Rather, I am here because of those hoping to cause you harm. Yugi's concern made it so," Dark Yugi told her pointedly.

"Oh," Carrie murmured, twirling her straw around in her drink. "Sounds like a Shadow Game may be in order for tonight. That'll be interesting. May even spice up the night."

"It depends on whether or not they stay in line," Dark Yugi remarked.

"Knowing them, they probably won't," Carrie claimed. "Their kind hardly ever does."

Dark Yugi smiled. "We shall see."

An overly happy teacher took over the airwaves to announce it was time to crown the Queen and King of the Super Special Spring Dance. Everyone on the dance floor quickly returned to their seats in anticipation of who would be given the title. Carrie just hoped it was one of those girls that were scheming against her so they might lose some of their malice and call off any plans they had. Dark Yugi analyzed the crowd with critical eyes, seeing things only he could see locked away within the hearts of the other students. Though she could not see the same things, she did not fail to notice the uncanny giggling at the back tables where the majority of the preps and jocks were seated accompanied by their looking in her direction. They definitely had something planned, of that she had no further doubt.

The teacher announced the dance's court first. It was made up of two popular chicks and two popular guys who were joined by a jock of a King—this was all expected. The name of the Queen was revealed last. The blonde cringed when her name came out of the woman's mouth because she knew it was not a genuine vote that granted her that title. Dark Yugi seemed to get the same feeling about it because as she reluctantly stood to accept the tiara, he excused himself to the restroom. She didn't believe he was actually going to use the restroom; he was going to engage someone in a Shadow Game to protect her from harm.

As she later found out from the man himself, this was the truth. Apparently the girls had this idea to reenact the prom scene from the movie _Carrie_. While she was taking her dance with the King, they were going to pull a rope that would open a contraption and drop pig's blood all over her in an attempt to put her in her place. Dark Yugi had stopped the girls by engaging them in a Shadow Game with the very thing that was meant to cause Carrie harm. He won, so instead of the blood dropping on her it dropped on the preppy girls and jocks of the court. Those conspiring against Carrie were then sent out for causing trouble, leaving everyone else in peace.

After that incident, the last slow song of the night came on. Carrie remembered her unspoken promise and immediately moved away from the arrogant King to find her friend-date. She still owed him a dance, after all, and it was now or never. She found him waiting for her at the back of the dance floor out of sight amongst the many other couples. He greeted her appearance with a brilliant smile which she quickly returned as he slipped his arms around her waist and she slipped hers around his neck. Awkwardly they began to move in their circle to the beat of It Will Rain by Bruno Mars, trying not to meet each other's gaze as their faces became flustered for one reason or another. Carrie blushed because she felt awkward in his arms; she did not know if that was also the reason for Jonouchi's pink cheeks or not. She found that she did not have the same issues dancing with him as she did with Honda and that he kept himself in line rather well. This was not what she had expected considering how alike those two were, but she wasn't ungrateful for it. She just accepted it as she moved close to him, quietly singing the words of the song that she loved so much.

Halfway through the song, something about this changed. Perhaps it was that Cinderella effect Megan had spoken of or perhaps it was something forcing itself to the surface of her heart from where it had been buried too deeply for her to recognize, but Carrie suddenly found herself enthralled by Jonouchi. Her face lost its pinkish tint as she managed to meet his gaze at last only to find him in a similar state of being. His beautiful brown eyes were locked with her gorgeous green ones, and no matter how hard she tried she could not make herself look away. She was captivated by him, under his spell as well as that induced by formal dances, and she could not escape. It didn't matter how much her mind screamed at her to get out of this situation, that he was just her friend. Her heart drowned out its screams with its own calling. She wanted to escape…

But a larger part of her wanted to stay here forever in this moment.

Jonouchi suddenly grew bold and moved in, placing his lips upon hers. Carrie closed her eyes like most people did when they kissed and melted into him. She hated the ideal of love after watching what it had done to her mother, but she was too caught in the moment to remember that. A kiss was merely a kiss—it didn't mean they were in love and were going to get married and have a family together or anything. She rationalized this only happened because they were caught in the moment. But her heart disagreed even as her mind jumped to that conclusion and reminded her of the ice cream incident. She had not been caught in the moment then when she took his hand in hers. Her heart knew her innermost desires which she refused to acknowledge because she didn't want to risk being hurt anymore.

_Jonouchi…_

They pulled apart when the song ended since they were deprived of oxygen and also had no reason to be that close anymore. Carrie could not meet his gaze any longer nor could she bring herself to stay near him after what just happened. She murmured an excuse and quickly walked away, heading back to their table to catch her breath and collect her thoughts. Jonouchi watched her go, knowing he might have just blown it but not brave enough to go after her. Carrie felt like crying, but she wouldn't let herself do that. It would only ruin her make-up and solve nothing.

_What am I going to do now…?_

* * *

><p><em>AN: When I wrote the last chapter that mentioned Jonouchi asking Carrie to this dance, I still had prom on my mind. See, my Junior Prom was held on April 20th, 2012, and it was a wonderful night. Carrie and the gang aren't quite juniors at this point—I don't even know if Japanese high schools have proms—but I guess I wanted them to experience what I felt that night. No, I didn't have a moment like this, but I can sympathize with Jonouchi's feelings cuz I was getting over crushing really hard on a boy at this point and I even danced to a slow song with that said boy…But anyway, what did you think of this chapter? Please tell me. Thank you for reading and have a wonderful day._


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: After this last filler chapter, I will be getting into canon stuff that happens in the manga. Of course, Carrie will be added into the mix so there will be some changes, but mostly after this it will be following the manga storyline. Well, anyway, back to the story. Please read on and enjoy._

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 6<span>

Carrie was the last one to step out of the building as the dance finally came to an end. The plastic silver princess tiara still sat on her head meaninglessly, as worthless as she felt at the moment. She watched as the other people left, not looking upon any friendly faces. She had asked for Yugi, Anzu, Honda, Miho, and Jonouchi to leave without her because she needed some time alone. They had reluctantly agreed, though none could understand why the blonde girl would choose to be alone in an environment she couldn't stand surrounded by those she didn't know and or didn't care to know. The answer was simple but she could not give it—she just couldn't face being alone with Jonouchi. If she went with them, she would end up being alone with him after the others were dropped off at the Kame Game Shop. She couldn't deal with that…not after…that kiss…

Her mind was reeling and spinning while her heart ached within her chest. Confusion had grabbed hold of her right after their unexpected embrace and hadn't let go as of yet; it didn't have plans of leaving her anytime soon, either. She didn't understand why she felt so confused or why her heart hurt so much. Love was out of the question because she could not love after seeing what it had done to her parents. Jonouchi was just her friend—she had no feelings for him beyond that. Her mind knew this to be the truth. So then why was her heart disagreeing? Why was it in pain? Why was the contradiction rendering her so confused? Why couldn't her mind and heart just agree and spare her for once?

She sat down on the dark sidewalk, not caring about the dirt or whatever she might get on her dress. The dance was over and she had no reason to be pretty anymore. Taking her fake tiara from her head, Carrie stared at it as if it might have the answers to the many questions within. Her green eyes traced the designs and the facets of the silver plastic metal and gemstones, distracting her mind momentarily from its problems as she looked over its maze of design. But as she came to the end on the right, her eyes rested upon the wrist corsage given to her by her friend-date and the conflict rushed back to the forefront of her mind, assaulting her and reminding her she still had something to deal with before this night could end.

_Why couldn't things just stay the same? _Carrie wanted to know, feeling tears in her eyes not for the first time this night. _Why couldn't we have just remained friends without feelings getting involved? Why does this always have to happen when a guy and a girl are good friends? It's not fair!_

Furious, Carrie tore the wrist corsage from her arm and tossed it as far from her as she could. She hugged herself and hung her head down as her tears of frustration fell from her face, letting the rough edges of her false drown tear into the skin of her left arm as she just let it out. She knew the saying that a boy and a girl could never be friends, but had never believed in it. Of course, she hadn't had any friends until recently, so she couldn't judge its truth for herself. But now she had friends and most of them were boys, including her closest friend Jonouchi Katsuya, and she could judge the legitimacy of that claim.

Right now, that claim seemed to be oh too true.

She hadn't really felt much for Jonouchi beyond friendship. No, not even when she had taken his hand in hers that day with the ice cream—she was acting childish with only friendly intentions to go with her actions. Thinking back on it had made her doubt if that was true, but in the moment, it had been. She thought they were in the clear because usually the girl was the one who gained feelings in the friendship, but apparently she had been wrong. Somewhere along the lines of their relationship he had developed a crush on her, and tonight's atmosphere had brought his feelings to the surface and forced him to act upon them during their dance. That same atmosphere had made her react similarly despite her inability to love, and now her world was falling to pieces.

_Nothing makes any damn sense anymore, _Carrie thought bitterly, digging her manicured nails into her skin in anger and possibly making herself bleed. _Damn emotions have to make everything so complicated._

A shadow appeared on the road in front of her, but she knew the source of it stood behind her. She stiffened and regained her composure, readying her right arm in case she needed to fight off a creep. But then the person behind her dropped something into her lap and she knew there was no reason to fight anything but the issues within. It was her discarded corsage, torn and crumpled but still mostly whole. She lifted her head as the person sat down on her left side, knowing there was only one boy who would return it even in that condition and who would have stuck around all this time waiting for her.

"…Why didn't you leave with the others?" she asked quietly without looking at him.

"…I couldn't leave you alone. Not in this part of town with all the creeps," he replied. He paused a moment before adding, "And well…I figured it would be better to talk about this out of the house than in where Mrs. West and Jessica can eavesdrop. You know how they like to make assumptions about us."

"…Yeah…That they do," Carrie reluctantly agreed. She closed her eyes as the question hesitantly rolled off her tongue, "Jonouchi, what the hell are we going to do?"

Jonouchi sighed. "I don't know, Carrie. Nothing that happened tonight was what I expected. Not all the stares, not all the judging, not you being voted Queen for shit and giggles, not the pig's blood dropping on the preps, and most certainly not me kissing you while we slow-danced. Something must have been in the air in there. It messed with everyone's head."

"Yes, but there's more to it than just what happened in there. You were blushing and staring long before the dance started. Jonouchi, don't lie to me. You have a crush on me, don't you?" Carrie asked.

"…Yeah," Jonouchi admitted.

"How long?" she wanted to know.

"…I'm not exactly sure. It's been a few weeks," Jonouchi replied.

"That long, huh? Well, this is a place I've never been in before," Carrie said, glancing from the tiara next to her arm to the crumpled corsage in her lap. "I haven't had friends before I can here, and I doubt anyone has ever crushed on me. But now my best friend likes me…Huh. Who would have thought this day would ever come?"

"I have to ask…You know, to be sure since you did kiss me back…Do you, uh, have any feelings for me?" Jonouchi inquired.

Carrie shook her head. "Not really. If I did, I wouldn't recognize them. Besides, you know how I feel about love and how closed-off my heart is. I just started making friends. I'm nowhere near ready for a stronger relationship." Her grip on her left arm tightened as she considered what love could do to people. "And I don't want to be in one, knowing what such a thing did to my mother."

The disappointment in Jonouchi's voice could not be masked no matter how hard he tried. "…I understand."

"We can stay friends. We can act like that stupid kiss never happened and go on with our lives as normal. That's the only way things can work out without anyone really getting hurt. If being friends after such a thing is impossible, the only other option is to end our friendship…And that's something I can't do. Joey, you are my closest friend regardless of what your heart feels. I cannot even think about how much it would hurt to lose your friendship over something as stupid as one kiss in a prom rip-off. I can't lose you," Carrie stated, sounding quite vulnerable as she finally looked at his miserable face. She wondered if she looked as miserable as he did.

"…I can't lose you, either," Jonouchi whispered. "We can…try to return things to normal …for both of our sakes."

"Good. And Joey…I'm sorry that I cannot return your feelings," Carrie apologized and hugged him. How could she not reach out to her friend when he looked so wretched? She would have to be heartless to do that.

He stiffened at her touch but did return her gesture. "…It's okay."

But was it really?

* * *

><p>The weekend after the dance passed slowly, awkwardly, and uneventfully. Carrie and Jonouchi did their best to act like nothing went amiss, which bugged the crap out of Jessica and disappointed Megan, and somewhat avoided being alone in the same room together. No one suspected anything, just as Carrie hoped they wouldn't. The last thing she wanted was for her sister and mother to find out they had been right about what formal dances could do to a person or to friendships. They would never let her hear the end of it.<p>

Carrie woke up earlier than usual Monday morning in order to leave before Jonouchi so she wouldn't have to be alone with him on the way to school. No one would know it. Her family members were still deep in slumber as was her best friend. They wouldn't be awake until after she was long gone. It might result in questions later, but she didn't care.

She arrived at Domino High a full hour before she could enter. No one else was on the grounds, not even the teachers. It didn't matter; if she wanted in, she could get in easily without ever being caught as she had when Carl had kicked her to the curb the day before his death. But rather than break the law when it was unnecessary for her to do so, Carrie strode over to the swing set in a nearby playground and sat on one of the swings. She dropped her backpack on the ground carelessly before kicking herself into the air. The back and forth movement helped her to forget the turmoil within and soothed her otherwise tormented soul—it always amazed her how the simplest things in life could have this effect. She only had enough feeling left in her mind to appreciate her not having to wear the girls' uniform because the short skirt would have made such a thing very awkward indeed.

Time passed on that swing, steadying moving forward. Soon the teachers arrived in their cars and went into the building to prepare for the arrival of the students. Then other students began to file towards the building, surrounded by friends and chatting with smiles on their faces. Somewhere among them she knew her friends were there, probably smiling and talking but also worried about where she could be. Carrie wondered if Dark Yugi might become concerned by her reclusive nature and seek her out, but cast that thought aside. That deliverer of justice only emerged when Yugi's emotions were challenged or someone was in danger. Her short friend would not become too riled up by her mild absence to allow his other self to come out. Besides, it wasn't like she wasn't going to be joining him soon.

Some punk from a class above hers appeared behind her and roughly grabbed the chains of the swing, stopping her from being able to pass the time and making her fall forward. If not for her own grip on the chains, the blonde probably would have fallen to the ground. Her face became cold as she stood up and turned to face her aggressor without releasing her hold on the chains in case he tried to use the swing as a weapon. She recognized it to be a friend of the preps that got pig's blood on them at the dance. He was seeking revenge for his humiliated friends because they were not strong enough to do it themselves. It wasn't her fault their plan to humiliate her backfired, but the logic of preps never did make sense.

A moment later that punk was beaten and tangled up in the swing. Carrie smoothed out her hair, straightened her clothes, picked her backpack off the ground, and went on her way without another look at him. He wouldn't be missed in school, she knew, because of his nature as well as his lack of showing up in the first place; his absence would go unnoticed. Hers would not be so lucky, so she briskly made her way into the building just before class started. Her friends gave her strange glances as she took her seat, but she could not provide an appropriate answer for them that would satisfy their curiosity at present. They would have to wait.

She followed this pattern of waking early and avoiding alone time with Jonouchi for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday without anyone questioning her motives beyond simple curiosity. It was on Friday while she was sitting on her swing half an hour before class that she realized she wasn't alone. Someone had followed her, someone she hadn't expected but wasn't all that surprised to find in the shadows. She slowed in her ascend and closed her eyes, lazily gesturing at the empty swing beside her as if just stretching but knowing he would understand her unspoken message. He detached from the shadows and took his seat beside her, and when she heard the squeaking of the chains she began to rise in the air once more.

They swung without speaking for a few moments, the only sound the irritating screeching of the old chains as the swings moved back and forth at the urging of the teens. She dreaded that moment when the quiet would be broken by the utterance of the inevitable words that were to come and the undeniable questions those words would form. In truth he would be asking some, but others would come from her, and then answers would reluctantly escape from both of their lips as they were forced to face reality.

_We should have done this long ago...Perhaps even on that night, _Carrie thought, regretting how quickly things had been patched up Saturday night without a real resolution being reached. _What a fool I was, thinking things could just go back to the way they were...I should have known._

"…How long were you standing there?" Carrie finally asked, hating how her voice sounded as the question shattered the quiet.

"…As long as I have every day since you started this routine," he replied with a tone much like her own.

Carrie was slightly shocked to hear this. "You…You've known about it all this time? Why didn't you say something before now, Jonouchi? You had me believing you were as clueless as Honda and Yugi and Anzu…I wish you were…"

"Nah, I'm not as clueless as I look. I just thought you would feel better if you didn't know I knew what you were up to," the dark-blonde boy admitted. "I heard you leaving Monday and followed you because I was worried about why you would be going before everyone else was up. After watching you for awhile I realized you weren't in any real danger and…I figured out the reason for your early departure. Still, I couldn't let you be here alone…Not after what happened at the dance and with the preps out to get you at every turn. I leave just before you do and arrive just early enough for the gang not to ask about me. Sorry about not helping with that one punk that had the nerve to challenge you here, but I knew you could handle him without me stepping in."

"…Yeah…," Carrie murmured, unsure of what else to say after her closest friend admitted to stalking her for decent reasons.

"…You have been leaving early and coming here to avoid being alone with me, haven't you?" Jonouchi asked, but from his tone Carrie assumed he knew what her response would be.

"Yes. I just…I thought it would be easier for us…for our friendship…if we weren't alone together. After what happened at the dance between us and finding out about your feelings, I just wanted to make it easier for things to return to the way it was before by putting distance between us for awhile. It made sense when it started, but that was before I knew there wasn't any real distance between us because you were always watching me from the shadows," Carrie said in as casual a voice as she could without sounding accusing or confused though she was definitely the latter of the two.

"But being separated isn't making things return to normal. We were together all the time before that damn dance messed things up. We were happy then…but the hell if we are now. We're as far from happy as someone can get without being suicidal or homicidal," Jonouchi remarked bluntly. "You may think keeping away from me is helping my feelings, but in fact it's doing the opposite. I almost feel like I've done something wrong and that perhaps I was an idiot for letting myself fall victim to my emotions, and it's really just tearing apart what remains of our friendship. We can't keep this up. In the end, this distance you're trying to keep between us is just going to end up hurting us both in a way that can never be repaired. Carrie, we gotta deal with this now or else it's just going to destroy us."

Carrie sighed. "…You're right. But how are we gonna deal with it? I mean, you have serious feelings for me. We can't just overlook them anymore."

"Yeah, you're right about that," Jonouchi agreed. "It's true that I gotta schoolboy crush on you, but it's also true that I value your friendship over everything else. I can hold back my heart, as I have been for all this time beforehand, and return our friendship to the way it was on my end while hoping this crush will fade away. I may slip up sometimes, but you have my word that I'll try my hardest to keep my feelings in, and the word of a street-fighter can be taken to the grave. It's up to you what you do to restore us to what we were before that stupid dance. Can you overlook your knowledge of my heart to let things be what they were?"

"…Jonouchi…I don't know. I…I have never been in this position before. I don't want to hurt you by unintentionally doing things that might stir those feelings in your heart, but I also don't want to lose you as a friend. I don't know if I can overlook what you feel no matter how hard I try. Some part of me will always know that I'm hurting you by wearing that top or that pair of jeans or that swimsuit. It just isn't possible to forget," Carrie grumbled, feeling as though she was letting him down with her admission.

"Then don't forget it. Accept it and live with it. Just don't ruin the good thing we have over the unnecessary fear that you're gonna hurt me. If you do, then you will do what you don't want to…You will hurt me more than any outfit or motion or dream ever could," Jonouchi stated.

Carrie sighed again and allowed her swing to make its descent. "…I'll try, Joey, but…I can't make any promises. You must understand that this friendship and feelings thing is all so new to me. Knowing what to do and being able to do it in such situations is difficult for me. You'll have to forgive me for that."

"I accept you and all your flaws, Carrie. That's what friends do," Jonouchi told her as he followed her example and let his swing come slowly down.

"I'm…I'm glad we had this talk. It would have been better if we did that terrible night, but at least it's done with now," Carrie muttered, stepping down onto the ground and turning to face him as he did the same.

"No problem," Jonouchi assured her. "Next time you have an issue to deal with, don't go off on your own. You may have needed to before, but that was before you had friends and were alone. You're not alone anymore. You've got me, and I'd die before I would ever even think of leaving you."

Carrie gave him a small smile before hesitantly stepping forward and wrapping her arms around him, pulling him into a warm hug that he barely hesitated to return. "I know."

_How did I ever become lucky enough to have such a great friend?_

* * *

><p>"Well, isn't this a great way to end the week?" Carrie grumbled, arms crossed as she walked out of school with the gang. "I mean, come on! The faculty had to ruin my good mood by dropping that bomb on me, didn't they? It's so irritating!"<p>

"What's so bad about it? They're just making you wear the female uniform that every other girl in Domino High has to wear," Anzu pointed out. "It's the rule. They didn't enforce it before because Carl was paying them off and then they were giving you ample time for your bruises to heal all the way. There's no excuse for it anymore, so they're not giving you any more special treatment. You should be glad for it. After all, you hate standing out and giving people a reason to target you."

"Yeah, but it's not like she doesn't have a good reason for hating that thing. It objectifies the girls and just gives us boys and the perverted teachers something to look at whenever they bend over," Honda commented.

"He has a point," Yugi agreed.

"See, even Yugi knows what we're talking about. But then, he would be the one to know considering that his face is right there," Jonouchi put in, causing his short friend to turn red in embarrassment. "That's the only advantage of being short. You can always keep your eye on the goods without being yelled at cuz it's at your eye level."

"Sometimes, Jonouchi, you sicken me," Anzu muttered, glaring at him.

"They're all right about it. You know it to be true, too," Carrie said bitterly. "The pink blouse is just loose enough to let us breathe and the blue skirt is just long enough to cover everything while a girl is standing upright. Any movement and her ass is hanging out for any pervert to stare at without her being able to cover it up. And don't forget how much they show off when a girl has to fight in it. Skirts just suck—God how I hate them! The tight shirt I could deal with just fine, but not that small shred of cloth that's supposed to be covering." _Not to mention how it might mess with my and Jonouchi's friendship if I have to wear that whorish uniform, _she thought.

"Well, while I agree with you about their flaws, I don't think you should condemn all skirts for it. I mean, they're not that bad. They don't restrict your legs or your movements like pants do and most of them are pretty cute. And not only that, but since you're not trapped in such a closed area your body can breathe," Anzu remarked.

"The part of your body that you're letting breathe…I'd rather choke off and let it die," Carrie grumbled.

"Look at it this way, Carrie. You'll finally be fitting in. By transferring from the male uniform to the female one, you'll lose part of your intimidation factor and the nice boys and girls around here will come your way. You'll be more likely to make more friends, not have to fight so much, and find that you really can call this place home. You may think this forcing of a hooker wear on you is a curse, but it's more of a blessing," Jonouchi told her with a small smile that she couldn't help but return.

Their smiles disappeared as Honda added, "Yeah, a blessing for all the horny people in the school who would like to get with such a badass chick like you."

"Honda, must you and Jonouchi ruin every good moment?" Anzu asked, exasperated.

"It's not their fault. All boys think with their penis and thus they're not that bright," Carrie stated.

"Hey! We don't all think with our genitalia! Yugi here has never thought with anything but his heart and his head!" Jonouchi claimed.

"Perhaps that holds true most of the time, but every boy in the world has at one time thought with their third leg," Carrie pointed out. "Even little Yugi here can't be innocent when it comes to that."

"And girls never think with their hormone-producing parts?" Honda countered.

"Never," Anzu pointedly replied.

"Don't lie, Anzu. We don't just think with our hearts and our heads. Sometimes we end up thinking with our hormones as well, especially around hot guys with charming personalities," Carrie remarked with a shrug. "I mean, I've never been attracted to anyone before due to my miserable life, but I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. You see all the chicks in our school looking at the supposedly hot guys and doing anything to be with him, don't you? In that sense, boys and girls are not that different. We all have the potential to be smart and kind, but we're all so stupid and driven by things we cannot control." She smiled and added, "Like how you're attracted to our cute little friend here named Yugi Muto, for example. You can't control those feelings, but you wish you could. Or at the very least, you wish he would notice."

The brunette girl and the tri-color-haired boy turned red and started denying Carrie's claims only to be rebutted by Honda and Jonouchi. The blonde girl grinned, glad to have taken the spotlight off of her as well as putting an end to the inappropriate responses of her tall male friends whenever someone said something that was actually meant to be sincere. She did honestly hate the school uniform with a burning passion for its indecency as well as what it could do to Jonouchi, but figured she could deal with it. Jonouchi had made a good argument about the benefits of trying to conform, and though she doubted she might actually make new friends or have to fight less or find that this town could be her home, it was nice to consider the possibility.

After all, she was not the same girl she had been when she arrived in Domino City. No. Because of these people that stood arguing around her, she had changed. No longer did she withdraw from everyone, fight whoever looked at her the wrong way, and wish for the end to come. Now she had friends, only fought when she had to, and never wanted to leave this world. She was, in short, finally happy and able to smile without faking it. It was all thanks to Dark Yugi, the catalyst for all these changes, and the friends she had made after meeting him.

_How very lucky I am to have such great friends, _she thought.

Suddenly she was grabbed from behind and thrown onto Jonouchi's back. Glancing back at the fuming faces of Anzu, Honda, and Yugi, Carrie realized that somehow her foolish blonde friend had managed to piss them all off. Even so, he was still smiling brightly as he took off at full speed with her on his back, and his happiness was infectious. She found herself laughing with him even though her angry friends were pursuing them and they could very well get caught. Their anger was all in good fun, and happiness could not be put off for such a thing caused by something so trivial.

After all, hadn't she been putting off happiness for long enough?

_Joey, never give up on me. Some day, my heart may change and it may even do so for you, _Carrie thought.

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><p><em>AN: Sorry for not working on this sooner. My laptop had a bad hard drive and I had to send it to Dell to get a new one, so I've had to use the family computer. Yeah. What did you think of this very late chapter? Please tell me. Thank you for reading and have a wonderful day._


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